The Assembly Budget Committee heard testimony on Monday from the State Commission of Investigation (SCI) concerning the agency’s recent report on contract terms for school district superintendents. SCI officials testified that, while no specific illegalities were found, their study suggests that the current climate encourages generous benefit packages for administrators that exceed the norm in other areas of government.

Committee members expressed concern about instances where portions of compensation packages were not reported as wages and recommended that statutes be enacted to limit the allowable range of negotiated benefits in the future.  In addition, they suggested that local boards of education, which they noted are comprised of uncompensated citizens, should receive additional training in the complexities of administrators’ contracts.