Woman leads 2 County school districts without merit pay
HAMILTON >> The woman who leads the Mercer County special services and vocationaltechnical school districts gets paid nearly $200,000 in annual salary to run both programs but has no merit pay provisions in her contract.
Superintendent Kimberly J. Schneider for years has worked as the top educator at the Mercer County Special Services School District and Mercer County Technical Schools thanks to a shared services agreement that saves taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.
Schneider for the 2018-19 schoolyear will collect $196,188 in annual salary and will receive annual 2 percent pay bumps in each subsequent year of her contract that expires June 30, 2022, according to a copy of the shared services agreement obtained by The Trentonian through a public records request.
A New Jersey public school educator since September 1986, Schneider possesses the appropriate New Jersey administrative certification and school administrator endorsement and has led both districts to recently receive a “Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting” award, records show.
The Mercer County Special Services School District provides a full range of special needs educational services appropriate to grade levels prekindergarten through 12 and educates students up to the age of21 as per Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). The district, also known as MCSSSD, currently enrolls almost 600 students and has a $41 million budget for 2018-19.
The Mercer County Technical Schools District commands a $15 million budget and provides vocational training to about 900 high school students in grades nine through 12. The district, also known as the Area Vocational-Technical Schools of Mercer County or Vo-Tech, serves all of the secondary public and non-public school districts in Mercer County and has a full-time Health Science Academy (HSA), a full-time Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Academy and a full-time Culinary Academy.
Michael J. Andriola, a licensed public school accountant, reviewed the financial practices of both the special services and vocational-technical school districts and found no deficiencies in either, according to the 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for both districts.
MCSSSD and Mercer County Technical Schools each have their own separate boards of education but the same administrative leadership. In addition to sharing Schneider as superintendent of schools, both districts share Dana Hice DePugh as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, Deborah Donnelly as business administrator/board secretary and Frederick J. Hillman as manager of technology, building and grounds.
In this age where New Jersey public school superintendents typically earn salaries approaching or exceeding $200,000 and where other high-level administrators typically collect more than $140,000 in annual compensation, the legally permissible shared services agreements between the Mercer County Special Services School District and Mercer County Technical Schools save taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars. Both districts are based in Hamilton Township near the West Windsor border off Old Trenton Road.