Keansburg Superintendent
Settles Severance Dispute

The state Department of Education reached a settlement nullifying a $556,290 severance payment to Barbara Trzeszkowski, former Keansburg superintendent, according to a statement released by Gov. Chris Christie’s office on Friday.

After it became public in the spring of 2008, the retirement severance payment for Trzeszkowski became a lightning rod for taxpayer anger and was the impetus for new state limits on administrator pay. That same year, the state brought a suit against Trzeszkowski and the Keansburg Board of Education that sought a court ruling to declare the intended payment excessive, unreasonable and in violation of public policy, and thus null and void.

The state’s suit does not affect the $185,000 Trzeszkowski received for unused sick and vacation days, or her $104,000 annual pension. The retired superintendent agreed to forego the severance payment in exchange for a payment of $50,000 by the board to offset a portion of her legal fees in the matter.

In an article in the March 26 Star Ledger, Trzeszkowski’s attorney, Kenneth Nowak, was quoted as saying that the retired superintendent believed that she had a valid contract and could continue the litigation, but she decided it would be more appropriate for the money to go to the school district in light of school aid cuts and the current economic environment.

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