Last night a federal court ruled that the State DOE had indeed overstepped its power by trying to regulate superintendents' contracts. The suit against the State was filed by NJASA, the group representing superintendents and administrators in New Jersey, which held that such regulation was unconstitutional. Right-0, said the Feds. But the US District Court held open the option of giving the State some oversight.
The DOE had been responding to a plethora of bad press, mainly from the widely publicized retirement package of the superintendent from Keansburg. Lucille Davy, Commissioner of Education, had recently released regulations that gave the State the right to reject contracts negotiated between local school boards and superintendents.
I'll post details when they are released.
UPDATE: The AP has issued a story that reports that U.S. District Court Judge Joel A. Pisano has postponed ruling on on the motion "to ensure the oversight rules don't violate tenure laws."
We confess bewilderment: NJ superintendents don't receive tenure. Stay tuned.
Here's a factoid from the AP piece:
A recent 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.
Labels: DOE, home rule, NJASA