Court Rules on Administrators’ Suit—Web Extra

A state appellate court ruled Aug. 3 that the New Jersey Department of Education’s effort to control school administrators’ compensation is constitutional, but the court agreed with administrators on other key points.

The case stemmed from an appeal by the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, which claimed the New Jersey Department of Education’s (NJDOE) fiscal accountability regulations created in 2008 were vague, changed terms of contracts already in place, and violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because they impermissibly reduced compensation.

The regulations gave the NJDOE’s executive county superintendents authority to approve local school administrators’ contracts before they go into effect, and they capped payment for unused sick time to administrators at $15,000.

The court ruled the NJDOE’s regulations do not violate the constitution, saying that the regulation “is rationally related to a legitimate state interest, reducing the level at which school spending has increased.”

The court said the state may cap unused sick leave at $15,000, but it also ruled that the state could not prohibit administrators from collecting an amount greater than $15,000 in unused sick time if they had accumulated it before the regulations were established.

“We agree that the regulation can validly prohibit an agreement that would permit the future accumulation of unused sick leave in an amount in excess of $15,000,” the ruling said. “The State has not presented any authority, however, to support the view that a superintendent can be deprived of existing accumulated unused sick leave in excess of $15,000,” other than cases where abuse has been demonstrated.

The NJASA suit also argued other points, such as state restrictions on payments of bonuses and reductions in the amount allowed to be paid toward mileage reimbursement. The court called the bonus restrictions “valid.” Regarding mileage reimbursements, the court said the administrators’ existing contract language stands, but the state can restrict such costs going forward. “We are aware of no principle which would hold that an employee has a vested right to retain a specified level of mileage reimbursement into the future for miles not yet driven,” the court said.

The court also found the state’s regulations are not unconstitutionally vague.

The court said “per diem” pay can not be reduced for a tenured administrator, or during the term of a contract. It also ruled that assistant superintendents with lifetime tenure can not lose other forms of compensation that were acquired before the regulations were implemented, including reimbursement for employee FICA payments and disability insurance premiums.

Because the Appellate Division of the Superior Court ruling was not unanimous, the case could be appealed to the state Supreme Court as a matter of right.

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