On March 26, we got an E-mail that superintendent Victoria Kniewel will leave our school district this year. Dr. Kniewel has been superintendent of the district since 2007.
On March 21 superintendent Judith Wilson of the Princeton school district announced that she will retire in December. Dr. Wilson has been in her current position since 2005.
In November of 2011 Earl T. Kim, who had been superintendent of the Montgomery school district since 2006, was named headmaster of a private school in Hawaii. He moved to Hawaii in 2012.
Ever since Governor Christie announced the salary cap in Spotswood in 2010 more than half of all districts in the Garden State have seen superintendent turnover with retirements or transfers. The salary caps were a big contributing factor. More than a dozen superintendents left for jobs in New York and Pennsylvania, where there are no such caps.
For Dr. Kniewel, I thank her for her contributions to the WW-P school district. After the tragedy in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, she sent many E-mails to parents explaining the district’s handling of school safety. On February 4 the News published Dr. Kniewel’s letter, “Safety Concerns Merit Broad Study.” I appreciate Dr. Kniewel’s efforts and wish her the best in her future.
There is heated debate on the salary cap statement. The majority of online comments support Christie’s decision. However, I also spoke to dozens of residents in the district. Most of them are on the superintendent’s side and denounced Christie’s policy. They said the superintendent is a human being and has her family to support. She has the right to choose a job in which her skills and experience are appreciated. These residents said that they moved to the WW-P district simply for their kids’ education. They are willing to pay taxes at the current rate but want the schools to keep providing a good education.
While the salary cap can be debated for many years to come, I believe that setting a salary cap should be initiated and done locally. School taxes are at stake. Local residents, not state officials or the school board, should have the final say on the salary cap.
State officials should not impose a statewide standard cap using a formula based on the number of students in a district. Each school district is unique. Housing prices in Mahwah, Short Hills, Princeton, Livingston, Ridgewood, and Cherry Hill vary dramatically. Just in the greater Princeton region, housing prices in Lawrence, Robbinsville, West Windsor, Princeton, Monroe, and Ewing are different as well. It is wrong to apply one salary cap to superintendents in all districts.
A superintendent’s salary is a much debated topic. To be fair to both superintendents and taxpayers the salary cap should be voted on by residents during the school election. For this year the school election was moved to November. The school budget will not be voted if the tax levy increase is within 2 percent. However, New Jersey voters will vote on increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.25 this year. A referendum on salary caps could be designed and put below the minimum wage question on the ballot.
If the minimum wage increase and superintendent’s salary cap vote are together on the same ballot, people might tend to vote for increasing minimum wage but choose the lowest salary cap. To avoid this situation, save the salary cap vote for next year.
A wide range of caps should be voted on. The larger the range, the more data can be collected from taxpayers. After a cap is decided the school board would apply the new cap as its guideline when determining a superintendent’s salary. Obviously, the higher the cap, the more room the school board has. A salary cap is not the final salary. If the cap is set at $200,000, a school board can still make an offer of $160,000. We should also understand that in a free market the best and most experienced superintendent requires a higher salary. It is fair for superintendent candidates to accept a high-paying job, be it in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, or Hawaii.
One of the most important functions of boards of education is to hire the best and most experienced superintendent for the school district. I wish the best for the WW-P school district.
Yu “Taylor” Zhong
Plainsboro
The writer is a candidate for the West Windsor-Plainsboro Board of Education.
