November 3, 2014; NJ Spotlight

Quite simply, the biggest commonality among the charter schools that pay best in the Garden State is that all (but one) pay significantly less than the public school average.

Reporter John Mooney suggests a number of reasons why this might be so, not least of which is the fact that only 10 percent of them are unionized. In many cases, however, it’s that the teachers may be less experienced. Those paying closest to local non-charter public schools include many of the state’s oldest and most established charters.

The TEAM Academy in Newark pays only $64,740 against a district average salary of $72,746, but performance bonuses can make up the difference and more. This makes it the only New Jersey charter school that pays competitively. The rest pay less, with a difference spanning from almost $5,000 to more than $15,000.

  • Elysian Charter School, Hoboken: $70,292 (district average, $75,047)
  • Princeton Charter School, Princeton: $68,250 (district average, $79,195)
  • Soaring Heights Charter School, Jersey City: $67,390 (district average, $78,123)
  • Jersey City Community Charter School, Jersey City: $63,083 (more than $15,000 less than Jersey City’s average.)
  • North Star Academy, Newark: $62,286 (district average, $72,746)
  • Englewood on the Palisades, Englewood: $61,394 (district average, $64,741)
  • Teaneck Community Charter School, Teaneck: $60,370 (district average, $79,746)
  • Merit Prep Charter School, Newark: $59,917 (district average, $72,746)
  • Freedom Prep, Camden: $59,256 (district average, $65,885)

—Ruth McCambridge