Fishbein Sticking Around Despite Salary Cut

Ridgewood Superintendent Dan Fishbein will remain the chief school administrator in the village despite a state ruling that will slash his salary by more than $60,000 starting next month.

"Whatever I [say] will be interpreted as self-serving, so It was a personal decision," Fishbein said when asked why he has elected to stay in Ridgewood. "Professionally, as a superintendent your job is never complete. There are always areas in a district to improve."

In 2010, Gov. Chris Christie passed a law that , with the figure based on the size of the school district and various performance measures. The order impacts superintendents when their contracts expired; Fishbein's expires at the end of June.

"I am pleased that Dr. Fishbein has agreed to continue on as Superintendent of Schools and accept a 5-year contract," School Board President Sheila Brogan said in an e-mail.

"He is a dedicated and gifted administrator who is focused on our students' education and their achievement. He takes to heart our mission statement, 'The Ridgewood Public Schools, committed to a tradition of excellence and innovation, in partnership with the community, provide a rich and challenging learning environment, enabling students to maximize their unique potentials to become life-long learners and productive, responsible citizens.'" 

When a new contract is drafted and signed, Fishbein will be capped at $165,000, with about $5,000 extra in the cards should students receive high marks on tests. Fishbein currently makes over $225,000 annually, though he volunteered to take a pay freeze in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, when state aid revenue plummeted.

Asked if he was concerned about the lowered salary, Fishbein said, "Of course. I am a father of 5 with two children in college and several others on the way."

It's not much of a surprise Fishbein is remaining in his hometown – the village resident has several children enrolled in Ridgewood schools and his wife, Susan, works as a medical doctor in the area. He told Patch in May of 2012 it was his intent stay in Ridgewood.

The Ridgewood school board has also expressed strong support for Fishbein, opining that Christie's law is arbitrary and could negatively impact education by pushing away the state's best school administrators.

Fishbein is certainly a well-respected administrator in New Jersey – he's won multiple awards, including superintendent of the year in North Jersey.

His decision to stay despite the salary cut is rare among his colleagues – most faced with the prospect of a big salary cut have fled to the Empire State or retired to preserve their pensions.

In the coming years, Fishbein said he looks forward to developing a new strategic plan and implementing the recently adopted technology plan.

The school board will be voting on Fishbein's new contract on Monday, June 10.