Before you read this post, bear in mind that the median household income in Parsippany at the time of the last survey was $68,133.
New Jersey finally has a governor who talks the talk and walks the walk, and you could hear his b*lls clang, because he sure has the fortitude to confront the school administrators head-on:
“Let me tell you about the new poster boy for all that’s wrong with the public school system that is being dictated by greed,” Christie said. “This contract is the definition of greed and arrogance.”
“I suspect that the executive county superintendent is going to look very poorly upon someone who is trying to game the system and take from the taxpayers of Parsippany, and by extension, the taxpayers of New Jersey,” the governor added. “If Lee Seitz wants to try to put his greed and his arrogance ahead of the taxpayers of New Jersey, you elected me to stand up to people like Lee Seitz and others across the state, and I will.”
Ed Morrissey notices that,
But there’s another reason for Christie to make an example out of Seitz. Had this gone unnoticed, every school board in the state would have tried gaming the system in exactly the same manner, hoping to outmaneuver Christie and the legislature. Christie makes it clear that he will fight back hard against the establishment if they attempt to work around his reforms, and that lesson will not be lost on those who prefer anonymity in that regard.
Cubachi explains,
Back in July, I wrote about Governor Chris Christie’s proposal to place a cap in pay for public school superintendents and administrators that have salaries of $175,000.
Christie’s proposal is to limit the pay of these administrators, cut the pay for those exceeding the max, and introduce merit-based bonuses. 366 superintendents will be affected at the end of their contracts, and according to Christie’s estimates, it will save school districts $9.8 million. The cap will not take effect until February, however the Governor is quick to lash out at districts and take names of those trying to circumvent the date and screw tax payers.
In Parisppany, to the chagrin of the tax payers and the governor, the Parsippany Board of Education voted 6-2 tonight to renew the contract for district schools Superintendent LeRoy Seitz, extending his contract another five years, and paying him an average annual salary of $225,064.
Ace is worried that Christie may be perceived as a bully; however,
Someone will have to explain to me why every plan to improve the education of our kids involves one primary element: Paying teachers and administrators more money to do the jobs they weren’t doing all that well to begin with.
Are they holding back on us? Do they have some sick teaching skillz that they’re refusing to utilize until they make $200,000 per year?
The administrators – already being paid 3 times the median household income a family the area earns – are getting salary increases that outpace those of private industry, while being paid by taxpayers who may be unemployed or about to be laid off. The taxpayers will be stuck with having to pay for this administrator’s pension and benefits after he retires. The state employees themselves will not get a raise this year. If governor Christie names those who are gaming the system while the rest of us have to pay for it, good for him.
