Politics & Government
Governor Eyes Cap on Superintendent Salaries
Cuomo says New York can see upwards of $15 million in savings.
Earlier this week Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that he will propose a bill to place a cap on the salaries of school superintendents across New York State.
Under the proposal, most Nassau County superintendents would only be able to earn a maximum of $175,000 per year.
"We must wake up to the new economic reality that government must be more efficient and cut the cost of the bureaucracy," Cuomo said. "We must streamline government because raising taxes is not an option. Reducing back-office overhead, administration, consultants and encouraging consolidations are the best targets to find savings."
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The cap would only affect school superintendents and could only be applied after existing contracts expire. However, each individual district would have the voting power to overturn the salary cap and could do so during school budget votes.
Currently more that 33 percent of school superintendents in New York State earn more than $175,000. According to Cuomo's office, this bill has the potential of $15 million in savings.
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Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Centre, said he'll be reviewing this proposal and others that are aimed at reducing local government spending in the weeks leading up to the April 1 vote on the state budget.
"With the governor's proposed cuts to schools and local governments, we need to be working to find ways to cut costs and reduce spending. Governor Cuomo has a bill and Sen. [Charles] Fuschillo has also introduced a bill in the Senate that would cap school superintendents' salaries," Skelos said. "I look forward to reviewing this and the many other proposals that will help local governments reduce spending over the coming weeks as we work toward an on-time budget."
The cap would impose salary limits as follows:
TIER ENROLLMENT SALARY CAP 1 0 - 250 $125,000 2 251 - 750 $135,000 3 751 - 1,500 $145,000 4 1,501 - 3,000 $155,000 5 3,001 - 6,500 $165,000 6 6,501 +$175,000
* Salary data is from the NYS Education Department's Administrative Compensation Information for 2010-2011
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