Senate Education Committee Testimony

[Dollar$ and Sense]

My name is Richard Snyder. For fifteen years, I have been a Board of Education member and an active member of the New Jersey School Boards Association. I am also the Executive Director of Dollar$ and Sense. Our organization came together five years ago to provide research and advocacy. We have prepared issue papers, and we have often offered testimony.

My very educated opinion, and I say this respectfully, sees the current Legislative focus and the Department of Educations micromanaging as doing more harm than good.

There is so much indignation about the abuses of very few. So much time is being spent trying to right these wrongs. We know that there are a few bad apples in every barrel. Our schools, our Legislature and our businesses all have some who take unfair advantage.

No one questions the need for improvement on our Boards and in our Legislature. Of course the abuses must stop, but this is a short-term perspective. Not looking long term will hurt us all in the end. Having our Executive Superintendents looking at district administrator’s contracts and verifying graduate degrees means that they are not looking at educational needs. We have the monumental challenge of preparing our children to face a future that we can’t even define, and yet, all attention is being focused on the indiscretions of a few. This does the greatest disservice to our children and our communities. Consider this from a cost/benefit perspective. So much time spent righting the wrongs of so few.

The Senate Education Committee should be looking at Legislation that helps to prepare our children for the best possible future. We should be working to lessen the achievement gap that is so critical to how we live in years to come. If our future is to be built on the backs of our children, isn’t this where our attention should be focused?

S-2160 is one of the Legislative efforts that are focused in the wrong direction. The inertia that allows for “sounds good” bills has to stop here and now. Superintendent compensation has been market driven since the 1991 repeal of tenure. If we are to cap the payouts for parts of retirement compensation, the dollars required by market demands will go to base salaries. Districts, A.K.A. taxpayers, will not save those dollars. In addition, the increase in base pay is pensionable.

Let us also consider the value of leadership. When we are in trouble, we turn to our leaders to get us through. School Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, and Business Administrators are the leaders of our districts. A team that gets to be great always has top-notch leaders. We are now seeing a smaller number of qualified administrators entering the market and an annual turnover rate of 20%. This does more damage to our children and our taxpayers than the few who take unfair advantage.

During my fifteen years, and travels across the state, I know as many or more School Board members than anyone you will hear from. Contrary to the opinions of some, most do not have a political agenda. School Board members are volunteers with responsibility for taxpayer dollars. We are the only ones who make sure that children are our first concern. Bills like S-2160 tell School Board members that we are not able to act in the best interest of our communities and therefore we require safety net of Legislation. We are to be a rubber stamp. This does more damage to our children and our taxpayers than the few who take unfair advantage.