Superintendent Cap Would Affect SOMA's Osborne

In March of 2009, the Board of Education voted unanimously in favor of extending Superintendent Brian Osborne's contract and awarded him a 3.29 percent pay increase—bumping his wages up to $196,138. This salary puts him above Governor Christopher Christie's newly proposed cap, which limits most superintendents to $175,000 annually, equal to the governor's own salary. The salary range is related to the size of the school district.

Superintendent salaries now average about $163,000, but exceed $200,000 in numerous districts, according to state data. The state's figures suggest that new limits could lead to pay cuts for 70 percent of superintendents once their existing contracts have expired. Osborne's contract expires in 2013, after last year's extension. He and nearly every other superintendent in Bergen, Essex, and Union counties would see a salary change due to the new ruling.

A spokesman for state Education Commissioner Bret Schundler said that Schundler told his top county officials to impose the new limits immediately. The cap is likely to face a legal challenge.

Christie's office has not yet made clear what caps, if any, would apply to assistant or deputy superintendents. James Memoli earns $177,268 as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, while Assistant Superintendent for Administration and Instruction Rosetta Wilson earns $140,127.

In 2009, Osborne donated the amount of his raise, some $6,000, to Achieve, then known as the South Orange-Maplewood Education Foundation. This March, he and other administrators voluntarily froze their salaries for the coming budget year.

A district with up to 250 students has a maximum superintendent salary of $120,000.

A district with 251 - 750 students has a maximum superintendent salary of $135,000.

A district with 751 - 1,500 students has a maximum superintendent salary of $150,000.

A district with 1,501 - 3,000 students has a maximum superintendent salary of $165,000.

A district with 3,001 - 10,000 students has a maximum superintendent salary of  $175,000.

Superintendent compensation in the sixteen districts with student enrollment over 10,000 would be subject to separate rules developed by the Department of Education.