Board Votes Superintendent Osborne $220K Salary

This article has been updated with corrections and clarifications from Board President Beth Daugherty.

Superintendent Brian Osborne will take home $220,001 after the South Orange – Maplewood Board of Education Monday voted unanimously to award him a raise.  His current salary is $208,000. 

Osborne, who is a finalist for the superintendent position in Ann Arbor, MI, has a three-percent annual increase built into his contract, contingent upon meeting expectations. For outstanding achievement, based on test scores in spring of 2012, progress against district goals and his strategic guidance to prepare district for education reform, the BOE thinks he has exceeded the board’s expectations in all areas, Board President Beth Daugherty said. 

In a statement she read, Daugherty said Osborne "continues to improve the educational programs and services for all students" and his "relentless focus on improving teaching and learning in every classroom and increasing equity and excellence for all students is evident in the daily operations of the school district, all of which are aligned with the priorities established by the annual District Goals." 

Daugherty said despite severe budget constraints, Osborne's leadership has increased student achievement in the district relative to its peer districts and that "significant progress has been made in closing the internal academic achievement gap, all while increasing access to rigorous classes for more students." 

Under Osborne's contract, the board considers a 3% increase as a target for meeting expectations but may award extra compensation when it deems appropriate, said Daugherty, who said the board decided on a 3% raise in light of the state-mandated 2% cap on tax increases and economic conditions.

As part of the overall salary increase, Osborne also was voted $5,586, which represents salary from the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years.  That money was previously approved by the BOE, but denied by the County Superintendent in what Daugherty said was a violation of Osborne’s employee contract.

The increase is retroactive to July 1, 2013. Board members Andrea Wren-Hardin and Bill Gaudelli were absent on Monday for the vote.

Due to Governor Chris Christie’s caps on superintendent pay, Osborne’s salary will drop to about $167,500 after his contract with the district expires in June 2014.  The Arbor position has a salary range of $180,000 to $220,000.