Aug. 23, 2007 — The $18,000 increase in the cap on commissioners' salaries recently ordered by Gov. John deJongh Jr. is in no way tied to senators' salaries, the governor says.
"The order is solely to accommodate the salary set by the governor for the position of commissioner of education," said a news release issued from Government House Wednesday.
The release was issued to "dispel the inaccurate and misguided remarks directed at members of the Senate and others" suggesting the executive order was "an indirect attempt to engineer a further raise in compensation for these officials."
The governor’s only concern was being able to attract the right person to "transform our public education system and to lead the largest department in our government." That person is Lynn Spampinato, who deJongh recently nominated to fill the position of education commissioner.
Spampinato, who has entered the local arena accompanied by equal amounts of support and disparagement, has been touted by the governor as the "agent of change" he wants to head the department. She comes from a background of service solely in the public school system, almost completely in urban settings, holding positions ranging from special education teacher to superintendent and regional director of the Philadelphia School System.
In the release, deJongh said he had to raise the salary to attract someone of Spampinato's caliber. But her salary is not connected to those of the legislators, he said.
By law, the salary of a senator is identical to the salary of the lowest-paid commissioner or agency head in the executive branch, which is $85,000. DeJongh said he suspected "politics" had come into play in the misinformation being circulated.
Other than raising the salary cap of the education commissioner position, the order “has no other impact or effect, and the public should be assured of this," deJongh said.
Copies of the executive order may be obtained from the Government House Public Relations Office, 774-0294, or online at www.governordejongh.com.
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