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| Westfield Superintendent Margaret Dolan |
Union County’s top school official has refused to approve Westfield Superintendent Margaret Dolan’s new contract, which the school board endorsed in early November — days after Gov. Chris Christie announced a regulation to cap schools chiefs’ salaries.
Executive County Superintendent of Schools Carmen Centuolo wrote to Westfield Board of Education president Julia Walker today, demanding she void the renegotiated contract by Dec. 15. Dolan’s current contract, set to expire June 30, gives her a salary of $185,102.
The contract in question would have given Dolan a raise of about $10,000, effective immediately. Upon the five-year contract’s expiration, Dolan would have been receiving $203,625, nearly $40,000 more than the maximum salary allowed for a district of Westfield’s size with about 6,200 students.
Westfield Board of Education vice president Ann Cary said the board had received no formal communication from Centuolo by the close of business today. She declined to comment on Dolan’s contract until she had received written notification from the Union County executive superintendent.
Centuolo announced her decision one day before county superintendents were to complete an inventory of schools chiefs’ contracts. That accounting is meant to prevent local boards from approving new contracts before the governor’s cap takes effect in February.
By Jessica Calefati/The Star-Ledger and Matthew Huisman/Local New Jersey News Service
Question?
1. Is it a bit early to renegotiate a contract? Her contract was not up until June.
2. Was it renegotiated to slip it by before Gov. Christie's cap on school superintendent's salaries is enforced?
3. When was the last time the Town of Westfield renegotiated and settled a contract with the Fire Dept., Police Dept., CWA, and DPW before the expiration of those contracts?
4. The town's repeated "low ball" offer to these unions makes the contract negotiation process between the school board and its Superintendent look like a Powerball lottery ceremony during the current fiscal crisis . A 5.4% raise immediately?
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I really think this appalling act by the BOE should show the taxpayers that they voted for the wrong people. They should resign, after an answer of why they tried to sneak this through.
ReplyDeleteThe big question is WHY???
ReplyDeleteWhat was the need to renegotiate eight months ahead of time?
Who instigated the consideration so early? Was there any consideration of the effect on the taxpayer when the Governor's office had declared this rate of pay to be excessive?
WHY? WHY? WHY?
Aren't the fine union folks always pissed when mangement gets a contract? And don't even get the details right - just read nj.com, or perhaps just quit blogging at work!
ReplyDeleteA few facts for "facts":
ReplyDelete1) By NJ state law, superintendents have a special clause that require a 1-year notice that they will not be re-hired at the end of their contract or else it get automatically renewed at current terms. That is why most districts start the process early, and even re-write the contracts to start from the current year to reduce the functional total length of the contract.
2) Looks like the Board of Education wanted to keep their superintendent, so they decided not to take the risk of waiting where they could only offer a lower salary and risk her resignation.
3) It takes two to tango, NEITHER the town or unions have been motivated to settle early.
4) The initial nj.com story got it wrong (check it and other sources now) The first two years of the contract (including the last year of the current contract) are the same salary - no pensionable raise. The next years are at 2%.
Westfield should do all it can to keep Dr. Dolan as it's superintendant.
ReplyDeleteShe is town employee and like other town employees should get 0% raise.
ReplyDeleteTo the person that said "the town should do everything to keep her". Are you out of your mind? Do you know how many other qualified candidates are out there? If she thinks she needs to leave because she can't make $205,000 a year LET HER GO. People will be lined up to take that job and could do it as well as her.
ReplyDelete