RVC School Board approves contract for new superintendent

The Rockville Centre Board of Education unanimously approved a five-year contract for the district’s next superintendent, June Chang, at the Feb. 25 business meeting. Chang will begin working in the district on July 1, upon the retirement of Dr. William Johnson. His salary for the 2020-21 school year is $290,000.

“We have been graced by the distinguished, innovative and courageous leadership of Dr. Johnson for the past 34 years,” Board of Education President Tara Hackett said. “Now we welcome a new leader who is ready to build upon his legacy of student success.”

Chang will finish the current school year as superintendent of the Summit Public School District in New Jersey, a position he has held for the past five years; however, his transition to Rockville Centre over the next several months will include a number of meet and greets with district staff, parents and community members.

The selection of Chang as the next superintendent of schools was announced on Feb. 3, and at the Feb. 5 Board of Education meeting, Chang was introduced to the community. At that time, the contract had not been finalized.

According to Hackett, the contract between Chang and the Board of Education was negotiated “only after reference and background checks were completed and proved satisfactory.” There are no built-in salary increases for subsequent years; these are to be determined after each annual evaluation.

Hackett said the contract does not include any type of incentive or merit pay, but does include stipulations for annual accumulation of both vacation days and sick days, which can be used in the future or paid out upon separation from the district. There are caps associated with each, she said. 

“Other than the aforementioned financial specificity, the contract contains standard language for the job description, meeting with the Board of Education, annual evaluation obligations, holidays, conflict resolution, bereavement leave, and similar conventional clauses for a chief school officer,” Hackett said.

The contract is posted on the district’s website and can be viewed here. According to New Jersey news site TAPinto Summit, the Summit Board of Education approved a five-year contract for Chang in December 2019, with an annual salary of $233,533. Currently, he is being paid $204,525.99 per year, plus potential merit pay of $30,658, and is the highest paid public employee in the Summit district.

Johnson’s salary for this school year is listed as $348,231 on the New York State Education Department’s record, though with benefits, he makes more than $458,00 a year and is the highest paid superintendent on Long Island, the third highest in the state.

Trustee Liz Dion thanked the community for being a part of the process of selecting the superintendent and noted that the board members took the community members’ input “to heart.” 

“We have an incredible school district and want to keep growing it,” Dion said. “I am so excited for the future, I welcome Mr. Chang and look forward to the future.”

Trustee Susan McNulty agreed. “We feel we have a phenomenal district here and are excited to keep that moving.”

On March 25, the community will have another opportunity to meet Chang at either the daytime or evening “meet and greet” events that will take place.

“The Board is so grateful for the contributions of the parents and staff members who provided valuable feedback to energize the success of this process,” Hackett said. “We look forward to the steady hand of Dr. Johnson for the final four months of the school year, and we encourage all community members to meet Mr. Chang at one of the upcoming meet and greet sessions.”