Local school governance is under attack. State officials are diverting the blame for New Jersey's fiscal crisis away from their own actions and toward local school boards. Part of the state's game plan is legislation and regulation that is far more intrusive, far more illogical, and far more micro-managing than anything we've seen before.
IN RECENT MONTHS, virtually every media outlet covered the case of the Monmouth County schools superintendent who retired with a $740,000 severance package. Reaction from the public and lawmakers was heated, and school superintendents have been vilified.
These reactions desperately need a sense of balance.
The fact is, news reports and state investigations of other superintendent contracts across New Jersey found nothing of the magnitude of the Keansburg agreement. Even an Associated Press review of dozens of superintendent contracts led to headlines: "Excessive Superintendent Perks Rare."
So let's not diminish the important role superintendents play in the education system, and the responsible manner in which local school boards carry out their obligation to the community.
So, the current mess is not the fault of the school boards. It's not the fault of the superintendents. Hmmm. I don't see anything thing here about the State Department of Education...