"It comes as a complete surprise to me that we're in litigation."
That’s Co-Vice President of the Parsippany- Troy Hills Public Schools Board of Education, Susy Golderer, responding to a revelation at the public meeting that the Board was paying lawyers to defend its decision to continue paying Superintendent Ray Seitz his $220,565 annual contract even after new State mandates capped his salary at $177,500. Seitz has filed a suit against the Executive County Superintendent Kathleen Serafino, charging that she exceeded her authority by ordering the Board to lower his salary. Which it didn’t. Seitz has also filed a legal action against the Board. Serafino just informed the Board that unless it lowers Seitz’s salary by $43K the district will lose its $3.6 million in aid.
The story was broken by the Parsippany Patch, which filed on Open Public Records request, unveiling the fact that the Board was honoring Seitz’s old contract. In addition, the Board has spend another $15K in litigating its case against the State.
According to the Patch, Board Attorney Mark Tabakin “admitted Tuesday night that the supposedly voided pact was in use and noted that Seitz's salary was the stated $220,565. Asked whether he thought the contract rescinded in June was legal and valid, the lawyer said, "no."