State athletic association official quits
Associated Press
DEMAREST, N.J. – A member of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s executive committee has resigned amid questions about the group’s spending practices.
Bert Ammerman, the longtime principal of Northern Valley High School in Demarest, said his “integrity was at stake “after The Record of Bergen County found staff members receiving generous salaries and perks. He told the newspaper that the committee was blindsided by its investigation.
“And what surprised me, to some degree, was the way some members of the executive committee seemed to be moving ahead like it was business as usual, “Ammerman said.
The association, or NJSIAA, governs school sports in New Jersey.
The Record reported earlier this month that the agency’s six directors earn between $83,435 and $142,744 per year. All of them are retired educators who will be eligible for pensions from the association on top of the state pensions they already collect.
The NJSIAA also allowed expensive spending habits, including trips for spouses at association expense and expensive restaurant meals.
Such easy spending has provided ammunition to critics who say the NSIAA sets ticket prices too high for the state tournaments it operates. A day of wrestling, for example, can cost as much as $20 per ticket.
Assemblyman John Burzichelli, D-Gloucester, has called for a State Commission of Investigation probe, and state Education Commissioner William Librera wants the association to submit a plan to reduce its spending and lower ticket prices.
In February, the state Assembly passed a bill to require the NJSIAA to cut ticket prices. The state Senate has not voted on the measure.
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