Wayne trustees OK contract with schools chief, a steady hand after years of upheaval
WAYNE — The local school district can look forward to at least four more years of stability in its chief administrator, whose contract was renewed by the Board of Education on Thursday.
And as trustees pointed out, durable leadership should not be taken for granted.
Before Mark Toback became the permanent superintendent in June 2014, the K-12 district went through six superintendents — including five interims — in the previous seven years.
“When I got on this board,” said Donald Pavlak Jr., the school board president, “we were a sinking ship, and we were going down quick. It was chaos.”
The board voted 7-0 to approve a new contract for Toback through the end of June 2027. Two trustees abstained from voting.
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Under the 17-page agreement, Toback will make a prorated salary of $250,000 for this school year. He will receive annual raises of 3%, so he will be paid $281,377 in the final year of his contract.
Toback said his staff of some 1,400 employees has helped him to build on a “strong tradition” of “great public education.”
“I have always appreciated the Board of Education and the community for affording me the opportunity to lead one of New Jersey’s premier school districts,” he said in a statement Friday. “It’s a responsibility that I take very seriously.”
Toback, 54, is now the second-highest-paid superintendent in Passaic County after Eileen Shafer, the Paterson schools chief, who makes an annual salary of $267,900. She is retiring at the end of June.
Toback, who holds a doctorate in education leadership from Rutgers, has been an administrator for school districts in Bergen, Hudson, Passaic and Sussex counties. He started his career as a mathematics teacher at Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg School No. 6 on Carroll Street in Paterson. For 3½ years before his arrival in Wayne, he was the superintendent of the Hoboken K-12 district.
His administration oversees 15 schools and a total operating budget of $183.6 million.
The school board’s decision on Thursday was preceded by a special public hearing, which is required by state law.
Parents were split over the move to keep Toback in the role, and some questioned the legitimacy of the hearing process. Their concerns led to a brief recess, so that the school board could get advice from its attorney.
But when the time came for trustees to vote on the resolution, it sailed through.
“I think he delivers in spades on all levels,” said trustee Catherine Kazan, who commended Toback’s hard work during the pandemic. “There’s no problem here, for me, obviously — I’m a hard ‘yes.’”
Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: devencentis@northjersey.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Wayne school board OKs pact with superintendent through June 2027
