Equal pay for unequal work Superintendents of one-school districts earn salaries close to those in larger districts. Wednesday, October 11, 2006 • By DANIEL HAUSMANN • The Express-Times Pohatcong Township Chief School Administrator Frank Jiorle earned $130,024 in 2005 managing one 373-student school. Phillipsburg School Superintendent Gordon Pethick earned $141,440 running eight buildings that serve 3,546 children from early childhood through high school during the 2004-05 school year. The two public officials' salaries were among the numbers released Tuesday on the state Department of Education's Web site. Department of Education spokesman Rich Vespucci said the release of the public information online is an effort to give the public a clear picture of what school administrators make. The salary figures do not include benefits. Vespucci said the department hopes to have those numbers included next year. "We hope to give an even clearer picture," Vespucci said. New Jersey Association of School Administrators executive director Barry Galasso said singling out administrator salaries confuses the public and reinforces "myths about what drives the cost of education in New Jersey." "All employees should be up on the public Web site," Galasso said. "It shouldn't be limited; it gives a distorted view. You should list all the costs of public education." The figures also revealed that Warren County's 23 district superintendents earned an average $120,000 annually. New Jersey School Board Association spokesman Frank Belluscio said administration costs in New Jersey are below the national average. Belluscio said New Jersey ranks 38th in the country for percentage of educational costs attributed to administrative salaries. "(Superintendents) are managing a medium to large size company," Belluscio said. Belluscio said superintendent salaries are smaller compared to equivalent positions in private industry. The state average salary was $137,043 in 2005. Belluscio said one-building superintendents may also function as principals. "You'll find that person wears more than one hat," Belluscio said. As indicated by the salaries for Jiorle and Pethick the figures don't always coincide with school district size. Many superintendents making six-figure salaries manage one-building school districts. Their salaries were not far behind those administrators running multiple buildings. Warren Hills Regional School District superintendent Peter Merluzzi's 2005 salary of $157,910 was the most among county superintendents. Warren Hills has a middle and high school and an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. Merluzzi has been with Warren Hills for 10 years and has been a superintendent for 29 years. He said salaries are determined by enrollment, staff size and responsibilities. "Older kids are generally more problematic; not to say an elementary school's mission is not as important," Merluzzi said. "And experience is worth something, too." Shared services When asked about the statistics on salaries, state Senate Republican leader Leonard Lance said New Jersey has too many school districts. Lance is a supporter of consolidation or sharing of services. "I would hope through a sharing of services we could have a greater economy of scale," Lance said. Special legislative committees convened over the summer to work out a way to cut New Jersey's highest-in-the-nation property taxes. Lance said a shared services committee is part of that effort but doubts shared services would become a statewide mandate. Lebanon Borough and Clinton Township schools have a shared administrative services agreement. Lebanon could not afford an administrative office and gets that service from Clinton Township. Superintendent Elizabeth Nastus earned a $159,844 salary from Clinton Township and a $15,080 stipend from Lebanon Borough in the same role. "It works for us; it seems to be a win-win situation," Nastus said. "It allows Lebanon to maintain their identity which was very important to them." Assemblyman Michael Doherty, R-Warren, said he is concerned with administrative salaries but he thinks the real problem is with funding the state's 31 poorest school districts and alleged waste by the New Jersey School Construction Corporation. Doherty said the construction corporation borrowed up to $8.5 billion. "This $8.5 billion was essentially wasted, that's a huge issue," Doherty said. Doherty said if superintendent contracts were added up state wide they would not equal a fraction of the school construction corporation money. Reporter Daniel Hausmann can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at dhausmann@express-times.com. © 2006 The Express-Times. Used by NJ.com with permission.