What Does Your
Superintendent Make?

Here's a number that might make you look twice at your property-tax bill: the typical New Jersey school superintendent now earns just over $202,000 a year. That's the statewide average for the 2024-25 school year, according to data from the New Jersey Department of Education — and it puts the state's district leaders among the highest-paid in the country. For South Jersey families who write those tax checks every quarter, it's worth knowing where the money goes and what the people running your schools actually make.

The statewide picture is eye-opening on its own. The average superintendent salary landed at $202,653 for 2024-25, with the median almost identical at $201,756. Eighty-three superintendents across the state pulled in more than $250,000, and sixteen cleared $290,000. The very top of the list is dominated by North Jersey's big urban and vocational districts: Howard Lerner of the Bergen County Vocational Technical School District topped the state at $346,189, followed by Norma Fernandez of Jersey City ($331,616) and Roger Leon of Newark ($330,978).

But what about closer to home? Down here, the figures are more grounded, though still substantial. In Camden County, the highest-paid leader was Henry Poteat of the Winslow Township School District at $255,672. In Burlington County, Carol Birnbohm of the Lenape Regional High School District earned $249,580. And in Gloucester County, Shannon Whalen of the Gateway Regional High School District came in at $202,154 — right about the state average. These are the people steering some of the region's largest districts, and their pay reflects the size and complexity of the job.

So how did New Jersey salaries climb this high? The turning point was 2019. For years, the state capped superintendent pay under a rule put in place during the Christie administration, tying most salaries to a $175,000 ceiling. When that cap was allowed to expire in 2019, boards of education were suddenly free to compete for talent on the open market — and pay climbed quickly, especially in wealthier districts willing to spend to keep or attract a proven leader. The result is the landscape we see today, where a superintendent in a mid-sized suburban district can out-earn nearly every elected official in the state.

That comparison is where the story gets pointed. Governor Mikie Sherrill, who took office in January, earns a salary that is legally capped at $175,000. So does every member of her cabinet — the commissioners running departments like Education, Environmental Protection, and Banking and Insurance. In other words, dozens of South Jersey school superintendents are paid more than the governor of New Jersey and the officials who oversee the entire state education system. Whether that's a fair reflection of the demands of running a district or a sign the market has run hot is exactly the kind of debate that plays out at local school-board meetings.

There's one more wrinkle South Jersey taxpayers should understand: bonuses. Some districts sweeten a superintendent's base pay with merit or bonus provisions that can add tens of thousands of dollars on top of the salary. According to reporting from The Philadelphia Inquirer, at least eight of the roughly 100 South Jersey superintendents had merit or bonus pay written into their contracts for the 2023-24 school year, including districts such as Barrington, Black Horse Pike Regional, Clayton, Washington Township in Gloucester County and West Deptford. Notably, several of the region's highest-paid leaders — in Winslow, Lenape Regional, Burlington City, Mount Laurel and Cherry Hill — do not receive merit pay, meaning their salary is the whole story.

None of these numbers are secret. Superintendent salaries are public records, and any resident can look up their own district's figures through the state's data or local reporting. The point isn't that these leaders are overpaid or underpaid — running a school district with thousands of students, hundreds of employees and a multimillion-dollar budget is a serious job. The point is that it's your money, and you have every right to know exactly what it's buying.

The next time your school board sits down to renew a contract, you'll know what the going rate looks like — right here in your own county.

Figures reflect 2024-25 New Jersey Department of Education data. Based on reporting from NJ Patch, NJ.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and the NJ Governor's Office. The Neighborhood Gazette covers South Jersey at neighborhoodgazette.town.