Three Retired Middletown Schools Superintendents Make $100K Club Cut

There’s something called the “$100K Club” and three former Middletown schools administrators are unwitting members: retired superintendents Dennis Jackson, Karen Bilbao and interim Thomas Pagano.

Those who qualify for this “club” are former government employees who are on a list of those who have earned $100,000 or more in pensions. The list was culled from a state Department of Treasury database.

It was dubbed the “100K Club” by New Jersey Watchdog, identifying “an elite corps of retired public employees that's growing bigger, younger and richer at the expense of the New Jersey retirement system,” an investigative report by the group’s head, Mark Lagerkvist, said.

According to Watchdog, last year alone 1,244 former public employees collected more than $100,000 each in pensions. The 1,244 is a number that has seen a notable 28 percent hike since 2010.

Middletown’s history of what has been referred to as a revolving door of administrators is no secret.

Dating back to the 1990s, Dennis Jackson was superintendent. Jackson was on the “100K Club” list for having earned a $100,487 annual pension after retiring.

Bilbao retired in 2011, after having spent several years in the district. She served as interim superintendent from 2006 to 2008 and superintendent from 2008 to 2011. She retired at a salary of roughly $190,000 on Jan. 31, two months shy of her contractually mandated 120 days’ notice and was paid at that rate until then.

Bilbao's pension is listed as $111,487 a year.

Since the schools cannot, by law, operate without a superintendent, upon Bilboa's early departure, the board approved hiring Thomas Pagano to step and cover, by contract, for those premature two months through June 30 in the top administrator’s spot.

Pagano had retired from the Ocean Township Board of Education, with a pension of $121,761, the Watchdog list says.

In addition, his salary in Middletown was $165,000 without benefits and no cash-out option for unused sick days.

According to his contract, he was not eligible for paid vacation or personal days. In accordance with state law, as a retired schools administrator collecting a pension, he was permitted to work in another district in that same capacity for up to 24 months.

Pagano left the district before his contract was up as well.

Then retired principal Patrick Houston stepped in as interim, until he stormed out of an August meeting announcing that he would be leaving as well. He was obligated by law to stay on for 30 days more.

Upon his resignation, Ernest Donnelly was hired as interim. Donnelly was a 40-year education veteran, who had most recently retired from the Millstone Township School District.

William George was then hired as permanent superintendent, with a start date of Dec. 1 at a salary of $187,00 a year.