The Martians Have Invaded Cherry Hill!

Remember when Cherry Hill had a terrific public school system? When honest hard working people were in leadership roles? You remember them -- the administration that cared about the education of ALL of Cherry Hill's children. The administration that admitted that they occasionally made mistakes, but more importantly learned from their mistakes and strived to do better. The administration that realized that we were paying them through our tax dollars for these important services for our children. They weren't merely entitled to their salary -- they earned it.

Well, it seems that something strange has happened in our town. Our administrators were replaced by a group that must be some alien life form. This is a group that apparently never makes a mistake, so there is no incentive to do better. They no longer seem to care about the young minds they are charged with educating, especially when it comes to our special needs children. They do not seem to care if our children make any measurable progress, but focus more on finding innovative ways to get out of providing an appropriate education. They no longer earn their salaries but rather feel they are entitled to them. They also have little or no regard for taxpayers that are footing the bill for these pricey salaries!

I read a headline in yesterday's Courier Post "More School Officials Join 200 Club." The article went on to mention that David Campbell, Cherry Hill's Superintendent is earning just over $237,000 per year. I remembered it being around $220,000 so I was a little surprised by that figure. I did a little research and found his contract (click here to view it). His base salary for the 2006-07 school year was $220,000.00. During the 2nd year of his contract, 2007-08, he was entitled to an increase that was contractually agreed upon, between 3.5 and 8%. From what I understand, this was based on performance goals that he needed to meet, which included progress towards the accomplishment of district goals. Even though it does not appear that all of the goals were met, especially not in terms of Special Education -- meeting IEP requirements, compliance with State Laws and IDEA; the Board of Education still voted to give him the maximum increase. So yes, we paid this man $237,600.00 for the 2007-08 school year.

In addition to his very large base salary, our superintendent enjoys the following: An automobile allowance of $375.00 per month, which equates to $4,500.00 per year. The luxury of fueling his vehicle 3 times per month at the districts Marlkress facility. I am not sure what our Superintendent drives so I am unaware of the fuel tank capacity in his vehicle, but if I am contributing to the $375 per month, it better be something nice! Let's assume he has a 20 gallon gas tank. At $4.00 per gallon, this equates to $80.00 per fill up. Times it by the 3 times he can refuel and we are looking at an additional $240.00 per month. Over the course of a year, that is an additional $2,880.00.

His medical benefits were contractually agreed upon as Major Med/Hospital with full family coverage. I looked into the cost of this on the school district's website and found that we are paying approximately $18,344 for these medical benefits. (You can view this here.) He is also entitled to Dental Coverage with full family coverage which costs us $1,364 according to the school's records and we also pay an additional $4,939 for his prescription benefits and $85 for his vision plan. His total benefits package adds up to: $24,732.oo. I'm not saying we should begrudge him health benefits, but I keep thinking back to what our teaching staff went through in negotiating their contract!

We also pay (or reimburse) David Campbell for his premium cost of Life and Disability Insurance at an annual rate of $9,800.00 per year! And if he has the misfortune of having to file for Worker's Compensation, we have covered that as well, because we contribute $1,830 per year to Worker's Comp premiums.

We also cover the cost of his cellphone. According to the report referenced above, the cost is $768 per year. We also pay an amount for meals and travel at an estimated rate of $2,200 per year and $3,655 in Professional Membership Fess (NJASA and Garden State Coalition).

Let's do some math: Base Salary of $237,600 + Auto $4,500 + Fuel for vehicle $2,880.00 + Medical/Dental/Rx/Vision Benefits totaling $24,732 + Life Insurance Premiums $9,800.00 + Worker's Compensation $1,830 + Cellphone $768 + Meals/Travel $2,200 and Professional Membership Fees of $3,655. Guess what folks, our superintendent costs us $287,965.00 for one school year when you add it all up! How generous of us to only require that our superintendent work 217 days per year, when our other administrators have to work 222 days per year!

And it gets even better -- Next year he is eligible for another $19,008.00 for "meeting his performance goals" which we seem very laxed about these days!

I am not saying that a good superintendent should not be paid a reasonable salary -- but is this reasonable? We have children being denied critical services, we have seen programs and supports cut, we have teachers that are underpaid and assistants who have earned less than this man's salary increase as their annual pay!

Here is another kick in the pants -- Dr. Campbell is also receiving the standard perks of 25 vacation days, 12 sick days, and 3 personal days per year. He has a buyback option for Sick Days, which could give him an additional $26,460 and a buyback option for Vacation Days worth $32,400!

Have the Martians invaded Cherry Hill? Well, maybe not, but it seems that some alien life form has come to destroy everything that was once great about our public school system!