TRENTON, NJ—New Jersey school districts and schools are often criticized for being too top-heavy. Some schools have multiple assistant superintendents and other layers of administration, and a bill in the New Jersey legislature seeks to ban the practice of having multiple district superintendents.
Under the bill, schools would be barred from having more than one superintendent, and the role would be completely phased out to be replaced at the county level.
Dubbed the “Empower the Principal Act,” the bill is poised to fundamentally alter the administrative landscape of school districts in New Jersey. The bill seeks to abolish the roles of superintendent of schools and assistant superintendent of schools, effectively transferring their responsibilities to the executive county superintendents and enhancing the authority of school principals.
Under the new legislation, school boards are barred from renewing or initiating contracts for superintendents and assistant superintendents. Executive county superintendents are tasked with overseeing all school operations within their jurisdiction and reporting on the schools’ conditions and progress. These county superintendents are also set to gain positions on the district education boards.
A significant bill provision mandates that each school principal directly manage their assigned institution. This measure restricts the employment of no more than one vice-principal or assistant principal per school, aiming to reduce administrative overhead and promote efficiency.
Upon the conclusion of existing contracts for superintendents and their assistants, the executive county superintendent will inherit all related duties. However, they have the discretion to delegate tasks to school principals. Furthermore, the legislation eliminates specific legal sections pertaining to the superintendent and assistant superintendent roles and revises laws concerning the shared services of superintendents and school business administrators to accommodate the sharing of a school business administrator solely.