$150K-Plus Salaries For Summit Superintendent, Principals

SUMMIT, NJ — Salaries for school administrators across New Jersey have increased significantly in the past year, especially in affluent areas like Summit.

More than 2,500 educational administrators in the state made salaries of $150,000 or more during the past school year, according to salary data pulled by Patch.

This data includes pay for superintendents, principals and other employees in administrative positions. Out of roughly 8,400 people who fit the description, 2,556 of them made $150,000 or more.

Read more: $150K-Plus Salaries For 2,556 NJ Superintendents, Principals

School-executive pay has been a controversial subject in both local school and district budgeting and state policy. While administrative salaries are often a flashpoint for criticism in school policy, many districts struggled to maintain experienced superintendents when the position's pay was capped, according to a 2019 analysis from NJ Spotlight.

Former Assistant Principal and Business Administrator of Summit Schools Louis Pepe, who retired at the end of 2021, earned the highest-paying salary of anyone in the district at around $223K per year, according to the Department of Education's data.

Westfield Public School District's Superintendent Raymond Gonzàlez makes even more, with a salary of $231,550.

Nearby in Millburn, Superintendent Christine Burton makes around $244K, according to the data.

Here are the Summit Public School District's highest-paid school administrators, where they rank in the state, position, along with their school, their years of service and their salaries:

• 101. LOUIS PEPE, District Office, Summit Public School District, 13, $223,113
• 116. SCOTT HOUGH, Primary Center At Wilson, Summit Public School District, 1, $218,225
• 473. CHERYL MORETZ, Brayton Elementary School, Summit Public School District, 30, $187,136
• 603. LAUREN BANKER, Washington Elementary School, Summit Public School District, 19, $182,407
• 1112. JENNIFER MCCANN, Primary Center At Wilson, Summit Public School District, 5, $170,209
• 1228. MATTHEW CARLIN, Lincoln-Hubbard Elementary School, Summit Public School District, 26, $168,532
• 1306. ROBERT GARDELLA, District Office, Summit Public School District, 2, $167,298
• 1408. DOREEN PERITO-BABIS, Primary Center At Wilson, Summit Public School District, 3, $165,640
• 1443. STACY GRIMALDI, Summit High School, Summit Public School District, 20, $165,013
• 2396. DONNA GALLO, Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School, Summit Public School District, 3, $151,807

To view the entire statewide list click here.

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