Here's How Much School Administrators Make In Morristown: New Data

MORRISTOWN, NJ — It's becoming more common for superintendents, principals, and educational administrators state-wide to earn more than $150,000 including in Morristown, according to data from the New Jersey Department of Education.

Patch pulled salary data that includes superintendents, principals and assistant principals, curriculum directors and other employees in administrative positions within New Jersey schools.

Overall, more than 3,200 administrators made $150,000 or more during the 2022-23 school year — about 600 more than the year prior.

• Read more: These Are The Highest Paid School Administrators In NJ: New Data

In Morris County, Superintendent of the West Morris Regional High School District Michael Ben-David topped the list of earners with a salary of $254,383 followed by the Morris Hills Regional School District's Superintendent James Jencarelli with $253,893.

The highest earner for the Morris School District and Morris Plains School District was the Superintendent of the Morris Plains School District, Mark Maire, who earned a salary of $198,591 last year.

Here are the top earners in Morristown's and Morris Plains' school administration, along with their current or most recent position and most recent salary. All data comes from the New Jersey Department of Education:

1. Mark Maire: Superintendent of the Morris Plains School District, $198,591
2. Anthony LoFranco: Business Administrator/Board Secretary, $190,000
3. Mark Manning: Principal at Morristown High School, $184,883
4. Kelly Harte: Assistant Superintendent at Morris School District, $181,167
5. Jennifer Giordano: Director of Guidance at Morristown High School, $177,205
6. Chester Horton: Director of Athletics at Morristown High School, $165,709
7. Catherine Jenisch: School Business Administrator, Morris Plains School District, $165,155
8. Lora Clark: Director of Human Resources & Human Relations, $164,398
9. Cristina Frazzano: Principal at Thomas Jefferson School, $162,903
10. Debora Engelfried: Director of Data Analysis & Programs, $160,974
11. Janet Kellman: Principal at Alfred Vail School, $160,002
12. Marc Gold: Morris School District, $159,138
13. David Thompson: Supervisor of Student Data and Assessment at Morris School District, $156,824
14. Lindsay Vieira: Director of Curriculum at Morris Plains School District, $152,303
15. Kiina Dordoni: Director of ELL/Bilingual PreK-12 at Morris School District, $151,141
16. Brian Young: Director of Curriculum & Instruction at Morris School District, $150,661

Why NJ School-Administrator Salaries Are Rising

Former Governor Chris Christie imposed a $175,000 salary cap for superintendents in 2011. In 2017, the Christie administration increased the maximum base pay for superintendents to $191,584.

Then, in 2019, Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation that repealed the salary cap for superintendents while also establishing guidelines for school-executive contracts to limit or standardize bonuses and other perks.

School executive pay has long been a controversial subject in both local school district budgeting and state policy. Some of the state's highest-paid administrators received five-digit raises last year. But when the position's pay was capped, many districts struggled to maintain experienced superintendents, according to a 2019 analysis from NJ Spotlight.

Superintendents, principals and other school leaders throughout the nation have faced intense scrutiny for COVID-19 management and from politically charged movements to overhaul or eliminate certain subjects and topics from the curriculum. But those obstacles have also fallen to teachers and other rank-and-file school employees. And the pandemic exacerbated New Jersey's shortage of teaching candidates.

With reporting from Michelle Rotuno-Johnson/Patch staff.