School chiefs' suit tossed
Administrators had challenged state regulations seeking to limit their perks and retirement benefits.
TRENTON - A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit by New Jersey school administrators who challenged new state rules aimed at curtailing lavish contracts.
The New Jersey Association of School Administrators sought to stop regulations giving the state Education Department authority to void locally negotiated pending contracts for school superintendents, assistant superintendents, and school business administrators. Existing contracts are not affected.
Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr. praised the ruling.
Roberts (D., Camden) said New Jersey taxpayers "are long tired of learning after the fact their tax dollars meant for helping children in the classroom are instead padding administrative contracts and lavish retirement payouts."
The state moved to limit perks and retirement benefits for school administrators after a State Commission of Investigation report revealed hidden compensation and little oversight in administrators' contracts. The Education Department issued new regulations for executive county superintendents to review contracts for top administrators before they are approved.
The administrators sued in federal court, arguing that such limits are unconstitutional. The suit said contracts negotiated between individual districts and administrators should not be subject to state interference.
Stephen Edelstein, who represents the administrators, said they would try again by filing the lawsuit in state court.
He noted that the federal judge did not dismiss the case because it lacked merit.
The judge said stopping the reviews "would interfere" with New Jersey's goal of reforming property taxation and public school funding.
Laws designed to increase oversight and transparency in school district spending limit the amount of sick leave government and public employees can cash in at retirement to $15,000, and limit accumulated vacation time to one year. A footnote in the judge's ruling said those laws do not apply to top school officials.
The Attorney General's Office said the ruling was expected, based on jurisdiction.
"If the administrators file in state court, we are again prepared to defend the Education Department's authority to enact regulations involving administrators' contracts," said office spokesman David Wald.
A state analysis showed that New Jersey taxpayers will shell out more than $36 million in coming years to cover retirement payments to more than 30 school administrators who are due six-figure retirement packages.
Attorney General Anne Milgram, at Gov. Corzine's behest, is trying to stop one such golden parachute: a $740,000 severance package set to go to a retiring school superintendent in Keansburg.
In all, at least eight school administrators in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties had six-figure buyouts in their contracts as of Jan. 1, according to information released by the state Department of Education in August.
