August 14, 2008 (Harrison, NJ)  The Department of Education released budget information for school districts throughout New Jersey.  In Harrison, the cost per student has risen to $16,898 per student compared to Kearny which is $11,725 and East Newark which is $9,705.  Harrison is an Abbott District while Kearny and East Newark are not.

The Department of Education has also published administrative salaries. The following are Harrison's administrative salaries.

Please note that not included above is the salary of former Business Administrator Peter Higgins.  Higgins retired and was hired back as a consultant on the district's school projects.  It is not clear whether he continues in that role to date.

In Kearny, the administrative salaries are as follows:

In East Newark, the administrative salaries are as follows:

One has to question given the cost per student whether it would make more sense to close down the public schools and simply give parents vouchers to send their kids to the best private schools in New Jersey.  In Harrison, it is particularly troubling to see that the district needs two superintendents and two business administrators making over six figures.

In addition, Councilman Michael Dolaghan is now the Supervisor of Maintenance.  What prior job experience did Michael Dolaghan have to qualify for the position?  If the position is needed why wasn't someone hired from within the school district to fill the position?  We all know why.  In Harrison, it isn't what you know but who you know.

Harrison is an Abbott District.  In an Abbott District it pays to fail.  If you improve your test scores, you could be stripped of your Abbott District designation and thus your funding.  In School Board politics, it is better not to educate so that you can maintain your six figure salary.  If Administrators were paid on the basis of how well their students learned, more emphasis would be put on educating students.  Our current education system is flawed.  The ideal expressed in the Abbott case was laudable.  But politics has turned it into a cash cow for the select few in the inner political circles.  Think about this:  If the Abbott funding was taken from Harrison, how much would the average taxpayer's bill rise? Remember in Harrison, Kearny and East Newark, the taxes include expenses from the school district.  A large portion of Harrison's school budget is paid through Abbott funding and thus not included in the property tax bill.

What do you think? Join us in our Discussion Board.