Paterson —The Paterson Public Schools district is paying 66 employees more than $125,000 this school year, according to a Paterson Press report. That number has doubled since 2010-11, drawing criticism from the teachers union and a mixed reaction from school officials.

“The district is overloaded with these administrative positions,” Peter Tirri, president of the teachers’ union told the Paterson Press. “I don’t see how they’ve done anything so magnificent that’s had a direct result in improving student achievement.

State-appointed schools superintendent Donnie Evans defended the district's spending, according to the report. He said competitive salaries are necessary in order to recruit the most qualified applicants.

“There’s no way we’re going to improve student achievement the way we would want if we don’t have highly-qualified principals and highly-qualified district office staff leading the charge,” Evans told the Paterson Press.

Sixty-six employees of Paterson Public Schools are making $125,000 or more, according to a report. International High School in Paterson is pictured here. (Myles Ma | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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Public school employees' salaries have been the subject of much discussion since Gov. Chris Christie took office in 2010. A Star-Ledger analysis that year found that more than half of New Jersey's teachers made between $40,000 and $60,000. At that time, fewer than 2 percent of teachers made more than $100,000.

Meanwhile, Christie's salary cap on superintendent pay has motivated some administrators to leave the state.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.