Schools
Nolan Reacts to Gov. Cuomo's Superintendents Salary Cap Proposal
Bill would make $175,000 the top pay for many school chiefs in Suffolk County.
Earlier this week Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that he will propose a bill to place a cap on the salaries of school superintendents across New York State.
Under the proposal, many Suffolk County superintendents would only be able to earn a maximum of $175,000 per year.
"We must wake up to the new economic reality that government must be more efficient and cut the cost of the bureaucracy," Cuomo said. "We must streamline government because raising taxes is not an option. Reducing back-office overhead, administration, consultants and encouraging consolidations are the best targets to find savings."
Find out what's happening in Sachemwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The cap would only affect school superintendents and could only be applied after existing contracts expire. However, each individual district would have the voting power to overturn the salary cap and could do so during school budget votes.
Currently more that 33 percent of school superintendents in New York State earn more than $175,000. According to Cuomo's office, this bill has the potential of $150 million in savings.
Find out what's happening in Sachemwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
James Nolan, the superintendent of the Sachem Central School District, makes $220,000 annually, according to the New York State Education Department's Administrative Compensation Information site.
"My compensation package is determined through negotiations with the Board of Education," he said. "I have been evaluated for my performance as a teacher, a high school dean, a middle school assistant principal, a high school assistant principal, a middle school principal, a high school principal and now as Superintendent. I can only give the very best of my time and talents and love every minute of working with young people. The rest is in the hands of others."
Sachem school board president Rob Scavo did not return an email requesting comment by the time this article published.
The cap would impose salary limits as follows:
$175,000
Sachem Schools
Title Name Salary Benefits Other Superintendent James Nolan $220,000 $44,574 $8,600 Associate Superintendent Bruce Singer $211,150 $38,157 - Assistant Superintendent for Instruction - Secondary Paul Manzo $164,200 $37,609 - Assistant Superintendent for Instruction - Elementary Jill Karp $155,400 $36,787 - Assistant Superintendent for Personnel Gail Grenzig $146,479 $37,609 -* Salary data is from the NYS Education Department's Administrative Compensation Information for 2010-2011
Jaime Sumersille contributed to this story.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
