The More They Waste, The More They Make

The Garden State's 570 school superintendents collectively saw their salaries rise 13.5 percent from 2001 to 2004, according to a Gannett New Jersey investigation.

One more example of our public employees choosing “public service — not personal gain — as their life's work.” Yea, we know it’s for “the children” and it has nothing to do with making as much as you possibly can without being held accountable for results.

“In Long Branch, for example, Superintendent Joseph M. Ferraina received a base salary of $201,756. In addition, the district paid him for 80 unused sick days and 18 unused vacation days. Extras like that brought Ferraina's total compensation in 2005 to $311,000.” Is there any other industry that provides pay for unused sick and vacation days to people in managerial positions? Folks in the education industry demand to be treated as “professionals” and yet negotiate compensation packages with pay calculated as if they were hourly paid workers.

“And in the three state-operated school districts of Newark, Jersey City and Paterson, state education officials negotiated contracts worth more than $200,000 for superintendents” Just another example of money being no object to those not footing the tab. The residents in these schools districts provide little to no funding for education and so there is no incentive to hold down costs. We have no problem paying people salaries commensurate with responsibilities and performance, but are these school systems performing?

“Many superintendents defend their salaries, saying they're doing a tough job under difficult circumstances.” Newark Superintendent Marion Bolden said: "I would like somebody else to come in here and do this job," "Given the struggle that you have in urban districts, I don't know what people expect."

Spoken like a person that can’t be fired and in a position over their head. Bolden has been provided with the most generous resources per student in the state. Would it be too much to ask for students to actually perform to grade level? Apparently, it is too much to ask. Bolden said: "What I object to is people saying this is a business, but you can't measure our performance because these are (students), not products."

No, superintendent Bolden you are not making products, you are providing a service. Somehow service-based businesses in the private sector have figured out how to measure performance and pay people accordingly. Based upon the performance of Newark’s schools, Bolden should have been fired, not rewarded with a second three-year contract.

The education industry throws common sense and financial management out the window. “Supporters also say a good superintendent will earn their compensation by bringing in millions of dollars in extra school funding.”

Perhaps it’s time to rethink the meaning of a “good” school superintendent and change the incentive plan – the more taxpayer dollars a superintendent spends, the more the s/he makes? No wonder education costs are ever increasing and taxes are spiraling out of control. Taxpayers are rewarding educators for spending more – only in the education industry would such thinking be accepted and treated as logical.