Any school board member—and many parents—will agree that a district superintendent is a 24/7 job. Accordingly, superintendents tend to be well-compensated. In New Jersey, the average salary is  $195,278, plus a generous benefits package, above the national average of $177,380. It didn’t used to be this way: in 2011 then-Governor Chris Christie imposed a cap on superintendent salaries, ranging from $125K-$175K a year based on district size, with exceptions for Abbott/SDA districts and county districts. In 2019 Gov. Phil Murphy lifted the cap and salaries went up, although turnover remains high; the average tenure of a NJ superintendent is about four years.

How much do these district leaders earn? Advance Media compiled all NJ superintendent salaries. Here is the top earner for each of our 21 counties.

Atlantic County:
Egg Harbor Township School District, Kimberly A. Gruccio – $216,150

Bergen County:

Bergen County Vocational Technical School District, Howard Lerner – $319,134

Burlington County:

Lenape Regional High School District, Carol L. Birnbohm – $249,58

Camden County:

Winslow Township School District, Henry M. Poteat – $255,672

Cape May County:

Cape May County Technical High School District, Jamie Moscony – $195,000

Cumberland County:

Vineland Public School District, Alfonso Q. Llano – $211,150

Essex County:

Newark Public School District, Roger Leon – $299,332

Gloucester County:

Gateway Regional High School District, Shannon M. Whalen – $202,154

Hudson County:

Union City School District, Silvia T. Abbato – $268,666

Hunterdon County:

Flemington-Raritan Regional School District, Kari A. Mcgann – $219,670

Mercer County:

West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, David M. Aderhold – $262,551

Monmouth County:

Freehold Regional High School District, Charles Sampson – $260,100

Morris County:

West Morris Regional High School District, Michael Ben-David – $254,383

Ocean County:

Southern Regional School District, Craig Henry – $247,302

Passaic County:

Paterson Public School District, Eileen F. Shafer – $267,900

Salem County:

Penns Grove-Carneys Point Regional School District, Zenaida Cobian – $165,282

Somerset County:

Franklin Township Public School District, John A. Ravally – $239,888

Sussex County:

Kittatinny Regional School District, Craig M. Hutcheson – $208,844

Union County:

New Providence School District, David M. Miceli – $256,805

Warren County:

Phillipsburg School District, Gregory A. Troxell – $220,631