Study Shows Steady Exodus of Superintendents, But Not Stampede

Written by John Mooney, NJ Spotlight

Gov. Chris Christie’s controversial cap on school superintendent salaries has drawn plenty of questions and criticism since it was enacted in early 2011, but there’s one thing it hasn’t generated much of: hard data.

And at least on the surface, what little data is available belies the common assumption that superintendents are leaving the state in droves. In fact, fewer school leaders have left their jobs since the caps were enacted than in earlier years.

That finding comes courtesy of the state’s school boards association, which is starting to compile some of the first real numbers, but that early data still doesn’t answer all of the questions being raised about the law’s impact.

The New Jersey School Boards Association on Saturday presented to its delegates’ assembly its first comprehensive survey of the extent to which the salary caps have spurred school superintendents to leave their jobs.

The most common complaint has been that the caps, which are based on district enrollment and typically limit the superintendents’ annual pay to no more than $175,000 – equal to the governor’s salary – have driven veteran and valued superintendents to retire or move elsewhere to avoid severe pay cuts.

But while the anecdotal evidence tells of respected education leaders making an exodus from New Jersey schools, the association’s data has so far found actually a smaller turnover of superintendents since the regulations were put in place by former state Education Commissioner Bret Schundler, Christie’s first commissioner.

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