Princeton BOE Unanimously Extends Superintendent's Tenure Through 2031

PRINCETON, NJ — The Princeton Board of Education voted Tuesday to extend Superintendent Mike LaSusa's contract by one year, keeping him at the helm of the district through June 2031.

LaSusa's original contract ran through June 2030. The extension brings his total contract to six years, from 2025 to 2031.

Under the contract, LaSusa will earn $315,000 for the 2026-27 school year, $324,450 for 2027-28, $334,183 for 2028-29, $344,209 for 2029-30 and $354,535 for 2030-31. The figures reflect a 3 percent annual raise after the first year, and his salary will be prorated for any partial year.

Board President Dafna Kendal said the board was "blown away" by LaSusa's "stewardship of the district" over the past year and saw fit to extend his contract.

Even Adam Bierman, who said he usually refrains from voting on contract extensions, backed this one, calling it a "strong financial investment."

"It gives us much leadership stability, which we've not had," Bierman said, adding that complex issues such as the budget need "a steady hand and continuity."

Board member Eleanor Hubbard echoed that sentiment, saying the district was "lucky to have a leader who has so much capacity for understanding the wide and thorny variety of problems that we're dealing with, and also so much energy for confronting them."

In her 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors, board member Beth Behrend said, she had not come across a leader as effective as LaSusa.

"Even the basics of just keeping the district running in this day and age, with the fiscal constraints that we have from the state and all the different problems that are coming at us, we are so lucky to have you at the helm," she told him. "I'll enjoy you going after one problem after the next, and not looking away, not flinching, but thinking about it rationally and deciding what our options are and moving forward."

Support also came during public comment from Princeton Councilman Brian McDonald, a former school board member, who noted that LaSusa was one of the longest-serving superintendents in New Jersey when the district hired him in 2025. He called LaSusa's presence in the district "a gift and a blessing to students, staff and teachers."

"While New Jersey pays superintendents reasonably well, it's never enough. We need to step up and do what's right for our superintendents, our administrators, our teachers and our staff," McDonald said.

The need for experienced leadership is especially pressing now, he argued.

"This is also a time when New Jersey public schools are under tremendous financial stress, and many districts, including peer districts, have been forced to lay off dozens and dozens of employees, including teachers and staff, and they are cutting back on the arts, athletics, clubs and after-school programming of all sorts," McDonald said. "This is a time when strong, experienced leaders are not just nice to have; they are a must-have, and I believe that Mike is the best superintendent currently serving in the state of New Jersey."

For his part, LaSusa thanked the board and the people he works with every day.

"I didn't anticipate necessarily wanting to extend my career at this point in the game, given the number of years I've worked and how old I am, but this community has been so embracing and energizing and warm and welcoming to me that I love being here," he said. "I'm going to keep on trying to do my best on behalf of the students and the school district as a whole."

The new contract runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031, and replaces his current agreement. It still requires approval from the Mercer County executive county superintendent.

The board must notify LaSusa by Jan. 31, 2031, whether it intends to renew the contract.

LaSusa began his career as a middle school Spanish teacher in North Philadelphia. Before joining Princeton, he spent 13 years as superintendent of the School District of the Chathams.

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