The Question is: Will Lakewood’s New Attorney Hire, at Well Over $600K per Year, Save the District Money Overall?

The Lakewood school board voted 6-0 Thursday to hire Inzelbuch, a special education attorney

LAKEWOOD – The school board is bringing back controversial attorney Michael Inzelbuch, who formerly worked for the district, and will pay him a one-year retainer of $600,000 plus an hourly rate – making Inzelbuch potentially the highest-paid school employee or contractor in the state.

Data Universe: Check the APP.com public worker database for salaries and more

Inzelbuch, 52, also will be reimbursed $29,000 to pay for a health insurance plan and can earn $350 an hour for litigation services for certain cases. The contract specifies that Inzelbuch is a contractor, not a district employee, making him ineligible for pension system credits.

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According to the Asbury Park Press’ Data Universe, the highest-paid school employee in the state has been Diana Lobosco, who has a $297,625 salary as chief administrator/superintendent for the Passaic County Vocational District.

Inzelbuch’s pay also blows away the amounts made by Gov. Chris Christie ($175,000) and top federal government lawyers Attorney General Jeff Sessions ($207,000) and FBI Director Christopher Wray ($172,000).

The board voted 6-0 Thursday to hire Inzelbuch, a special education attorney who graduated from Lakewood High School and who served as board attorney from 2002 until 2012, gaining as many detractors as he did supporters.

In his previous tenure,  Inzelbuch was at the center of controversies over sharply increased spending on private religious schools, charges of racial bias, a cheating scandal and regularly poor testing results, but on Friday he said, “It’s a privilege for me to be back.”

“It is my hope to make public school kids and all children a No. 1 agenda item, as opposed to needless and unnecessary distractions the district has endured of late,” he said.

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