New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced last month that seven Executive County Superintendents across the state, appointed by former Gov. Corzine, would not be reappointed.
New Jersey State Senator Dawn Marie Addiego, Assemblyman Scott Rudder and Assemblyman Pat Delany are planning to take that one step further when they introduce legislation to abolish the position of Executive County Superintendent in all 21 New Jersey counties.
“The County Superintendent is a luxury New Jersey taxpayers can not afford,” said Assemblyman Rudder. “This is a level of state bureaucracy that is expensive, excessive, and redundant.”
The legislation, being crafted by the 8th District lawmakers and the Office of Legislative Services, will do away with a position that pays as much as $141,000 per year. Some of the costs of the executive county superintendent’s office are paid for by the individual counties. Burlington County paid approximately $225,000 per year for the operation of former superintendent Les Richens’s office.
“We have an opportunity to save money and to shrink the size of government. Every single responsibility of the County Superintendents’ offices can be handled using the existing resources of the Department of Education in Trenton,” said Senator Addiego. “There is no need to micro-manage at the county level.”
In 2006, the role of the Executive Superintendent was expanded to help moderate out-of-control property taxes. County superintendents were charged with saving taxpayer money by encouraging shared services and consolidation, among other things.
“The state is paying very good money to county superintendents to eliminate waste and save taxpayer money. That approach has failed and school taxes have continued to skyrocket,” said Assemblyman Delany. “Eliminating the position may be the biggest saving yet to come out of the County Superintendents’ offices.”
The job description of the County Superintendent includes 24 key duties.
“During Les Richens’s three-year tenure in Burlington County, I am aware of only one significant accomplishment. He closed a non-operating school district in Pemberton Borough,” said Assemblyman Rudder. “I am confident the DOE can do better than 1-for-24.”
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