Officials probing school contracts reaped their own rewards Thursday, June 05, 2008 • BY DUNSTAN McNICHOL • Star-Ledger Staff Stunned by a $740,000 severance package Keansburg was to begin paying its outgoing superintendent next month, Gov. Jon Corzine has dispatched newly installed executive county school superintendents to scour other contracts for improper plums. Most of the new reviewers are retired superintendents, however, and at least seven of the 12 appointed so far collected tens of thousands of dollars in retirement benefits similar to ones they must ferret out, a review of state and local records shows. They have been told to search for contract provisions that seem "excessive," such as large payments for unused sick and vacation time. Lawmakers have already moved to cap unused sick time at $15,000 on all new contracts and are considering trying to insert that requirement into existing contracts. Thomas Dowd, who goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee today for consideration to be Atlantic County's executive superintendent, collected $54,823 for unused sick days and vacation time when he stepped down as Bloomfield superintendent in 2006. Carole Knopp Morris, Monmouth County's executive county superintendent, was paid $109,362 for 336 unused sick days and an additional $7,188 in vacation time when she retired from Manasquan schools in 2006. Lester Richens, who oversees administrative spending in 42 Burlington County school districts as executive county superintendent there, was paid almost $110,000 for unused sick days and vacation time when he stepped down after 24 years as Belmar superintendent last year. "I don't see any conflict," said Morris. "It's a different job and a different responsibility. The interpretation and the emphasis in the law is changing." The new executive county superintendents also benefit from a provision in state law that allows them to be paid a $120,000 salary at the same time they are collecting thousands of dollars a month in pension payments from their local posts. State records show the new executives also are collecting state retirement checks ranging from $48,000 to $135,000 a year. Richens, 61, acknowledged his own benefits contrast with the guidelines he is being paid to impose. "In this position the rules have changed," he said. "I would have lost all that because the rules have changed. That's the reality." The executive county superintendents, who have broad powers to monitor and regulate local school spending under reform measures passed by the state Legislature last year, were thrust into the front lines of a controversy when the Keansburg deal surfaced two weeks ago. On Friday, state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy directed them to review contract provisions in each district they oversee. She said they should pay particular attention to provisions relating to severance benefits. In an interview, she said she was not troubled by the severance benefits her own team of superintendents have received. "We're not talking about a Keansburg, a real golden parachute," she said. "If it was sick and vacation time being paid out, that would have been consistent with the law." The $740,000 severance package awarded to outgoing Keansburg Superintendent Barbara Trzeszkowski sparked cries for reform. That deal, which has been suspended pending a state court challenge, included severance pay of $556,290 calculated by multiplying the superintendent's current monthly salary by the years she has worked in Keansburg, and another $184,586 for 235.5 unused sick days and 20 vacation days. State officials said former superintendents are in the best position to understand and reform the system. "The folks most qualified for getting to the core issues and the core problem ... are those who have served locally," said Tom Vincz, a spokesman for the state Treasury Department, which oversees public pensions. Patrick Piegari, a retired Basking Ridge superintendent now serving as Middlesex executive superintendent, agreed he brings a valuable background to the job. "I've worked in seven different counties in New Jersey as a teacher, principal and superintendent of schools," he said. "I'm very experienced in contract law myself having had many contracts myself and having worked with lawyers developing contracts." Piegari is collecting a pension of $64,800 on top of his executive superintendent's pay, and said some of his own superintendent's pacts included payments for unused vacation. But he said he would have no problem enforcing tightened standards on current superintendents. "I have guidance and parameters to follow as I review contracts," he said. Staff writer John Mooney contributed to this report. Dunstan McNichol may be reached at dmcnichol@starledger.com or (609) 989-0341. © 2008 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.