Jim Ryan, who has been Rockland BOCES superintendent for seven years, is expected to be appointed tonight as the new superintendent of Carmel schools.

Although nobody is willing to say anything specific, one of the reasons given for Ryan’s jump from BOCES is related to money.

Since 1992, the state legislature has capped BOCES superintendents’ salaries, a move made after a Long Island BOCES super got a $1 million windfall (on top of a $227,600 salary) when he left the position.

The way the law was structured, however, capped the BOCES salary at 98 percent of the commissioner’s salary in 1992. That meant that for the next 10 years, the salary for a BOCES superintendent was slightly more than $128,600.

In 2002, the legislators changed the amount to nearly 98 percent of the 2002 education commissioner’s salary, which at that time was $170,165. Since 2002, the BOCES superintendent salary cap has been a little more than $164,000.

Carmel advertised for a superintendent with a proposed salary of no less than $195,000. Ryan’s salary at Carmel will be made public at tonight’s school board meeting. Whatever it becomes, this makes nice financial jump for Ryan, plus a chance for more pay increases as time passes. In Rockland, Ryan’s current salary trails the least paid public school superintendent by more than $35,000 a year.
The Regents want some changes to the state education budget that weren’t addressed to their satisfaction in Gov. Spitzer’s proposal. One was to eliminate the cap on BOCES superintendent salaries.

Considering that both Orange Ulster and Southern Westchester BOCES are currently without superintendents, it probably isn’t crystal-ball gazing to feel that this issue is one that will continue to come up during the current budget season.