PARK RIDGE—Public school trustees have voted a two-year extension of the superintendent’s contract through 2026, irking some parents who have complained about his management style and his initial reluctance to stand up this year’s graduating seniors’ portraits at the high school grounds.
Eventually, Superintendent Dr. Robert Gamper approved the portrait display to highlight the class’s graduation and accomplishments. His initial decision prompted hundreds of parents to sign a petition calling on him to reverse his decision.
The school board voted, 5-0, on June 20 to extend Gamper’s contract through 2025-2026, ending 2026 at nearly $260,000 annually, which includes a $9,000 longevity bonus.
The 2022-2023 school year marks Gamper’s 10th year of service. Both the prior and newly approved contracts provide similar bonuses beginning in the 10th year. This includes $8,000 for the 10th year and $9,000 yearly after that through 2026.
Gamper’s original contract ran through 2023-2024 at an ending salary of $239,926 plus a $9,000 longevity bonus that year. The new contract adds two more years, 2024-2025 at a salary of $244,725, and 2025-2026, at $249,619. Longevity bonuses will be $9,000 for each of the additional two years.
The new contract extends the previous one by two years with a 2% increase. Meanwhile, clauses for merit pay and phone reimbursement were removed, board secretary and business administrator Robert Wright told Pascack Press on July 6.
At the June 20 meeting the board also honored retirees Diana Garcia (elementary instruction, music) Teresa Greenberg (learning disabilities teacher consultant), and Sharon Smith-Raska (high school English). All will be missed, the board said.
Several parents alleged that the added years increased pension contributions, although merit increases (generally 3.33% yearly following approval) were eliminated in the new contract.
Only annual longevity bonuses remained over the final four years of the contract, upon which annual pension contributions were based, reads the new contract.
Prior to approval of Gamper’s contract, Valerie Halton posted a petition urging parents to rally in favor of posting seniors photos at the high school to honor their graduations, given the struggles with Covid and remote learning that they had encountered in 2020 and 2021.
More than 360 individuals signed the petition. Gamper reversed his original position against the photos and approved their posting, said Halton.
In her call for signatories to the petition, Halton called Gamper’s salary “already astronomical.”
In contrast, last year, nj.com reported the top-earning 25 superintendents in New Jersey made $234,000 to $300,000. The average base salary for a superintendent in New Jersey was about $179,204 in 2020–2021, an increase of 4% over the prior year, according to an NJ Advance Media analysis of state data. Gamper was not named in the NJ Advance Media analysis.
‘It has been my honor to serve…’
Gamper told Pascack Press on July 12, “I have proudly served the school community in Park Ridge for 12 years and look forward to continue working alongside the students and staff. Park Ridge has a dedicated faculty, accomplished administrators and a talented student body. It has been my honor to serve them.”
Gamper said that he specifically requested a contract extension, and will be starting his 13th year with the district.
Senior portraits and a ‘normal graduation’
Halton said that Gamper initially opposed the senior Owls’ pictures being posted because the seniors were not affected by Covid-19 this year and he had said that the seniors needed to have a “normal graduation.”
She also said that he told her his initial decision to oppose the display of senior photos was not based on cost.
In an email response, BOE president David Bradler wrote that the board had only “recently” learned about the senior pictures decision, adding “but the board is fully cognizant of the community’s response towards this issue.”
He said he would share Halton’s concerns with trustees and Gamper when he spoke to them.
“I am sorry that you had an unpleasant experience with Dr. Gamper. When I speak with Dr. Gamper, I will address the fact that you felt disrespected and that you feel that your concerns were not being treated fairly,” Bradler assured Halton.