Do we have to pay top dollar for school superintendents?
The AJC has a companion piece to its weekend story on how few systems are cutting their highest-level central office folks. The latest story talks about how well paid school superintendents are in metro districts.
The real question is whether districts have to pay these high salaries to attract and keep good superintendents. They all claim they do, that this a market-driven decision. (The Regents say the same thing about the salaries they offer college presidents.)
According to the AJC:
At least four local superintendents earn more than the vice president of the United States and one earns nearly as much as the president.
As school districts face unprecedented budget cuts and collective layoffs of more than 1,500 teachers, superintendent compensation remains hefty, even with recent decreases.
The highest-paid superintendent in the metro area is Gwinnett’s Alvin Wilbanks, who earns $382,819, according to the Gwinnett school district. Wilbanks actually will make less than before because of furlough days.
Last year, Wilbanks earned $387,934, according to the open.georgia.gov Web site, which tracks government spending. He oversees 158,329 students and the largest school district in the state. In contrast, President Barack Obama makes $400,000 per year, according to the White House Web site.
“I know that’s a sensitive issue,” said Stuart Bennett, Georgia Association of Educational Leaders executive director, speaking of superintendents’ compensation. “But it’s a job with a lot of responsibility and a lot of pressure. Superintendents have a tremendous responsibility on them. They are CEOs.”Gwinnett school district’s total budget is $1.7 billion with 22,000 employees.
“The fact is they are a large company,” Bennett said. “That might seem to be a high salary for education, but it’s relatively meager for a company that size.”
A superintendent’s compensation is not easy to pinpoint. The compensation is spelled out in the contract, but amendments and other changes are hard to track. When The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked metro Atlanta school districts to disclose their superintendent’s compensation, pay was broken down into different pieces or not at all. Some districts included retirement benefits, cellphone stipends and cashed-out, unused vacation time when calculating a superintendent’s compensation. Others did not.
Beverly Hall, Atlanta Public Schools superintendent, earned $344,331 last year, the school district said. She is the second-highest paid superintendent in the metro area and runs one of the smallest school districts with 48,696 students. Hall’s compensation includes a $78,115 bonus, a cellphone stipend of $1,200 and a car allowance of $666.
In 2008, Hall earned $352,097. That included an $82,000 bonus, $1,200 for the phone, $588 for the car and $5,000 in miscellaneous. Hall’s current compensation is smaller because her bonus decreased by $4,000 and she did not receive the $5,000 in unspecified pay.
Hall’s bonus fluctuates from year to year depending on whether she meets her performance targets, which are partially based on student achievement, Atlanta school district spokesman Keith Bromery said.
“She didn’t meet all of them,” Bromery said. “We set a high bar here for student performance. She can’t achieve 100 percent of them in most instances.”
Hall’s compensation was higher in records kept by open.georgia.gov than the school district listed: $353,710 in 2008 and $389,314.56 in 2009. Those figures came from payroll data supplied by the school district to the state auditor.
Hall’s compensation is about six times more than the average Atlanta teacher’s salary of $57,740. Wilbanks’ compensation is seven times more than the average Gwinnett teacher’s salary of $55,795.
In DeKalb County, former Superintendent Crawford Lewis earned $287,992. That’s more than Vice President Joe Biden, whose reported earnings were $276,463.
Clayton County’s superintendent earns about $276,629, still more than Biden. Fulton County’s superintendent earns $260,483, including $13,675 in a retirement allowance, $9,600 in car allowance and $12,000 in expense allowance.
Cobb County’s superintendent, who runs the second-largest district in the state, earns $216,697, which includes a car allowance. That’s more than Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, who earned $139,339, according to open.georgia.gov.
Cobb is reeling from potentially the deepest classroom cuts in the metro area, with 579 teaching positions and 56 para-professionals among the job losses.
Cobb superintendent Fred Sanderson took a 2 percent pay cut and five furlough days, and his compensation dropped from $224,494 to $216,697 this year, district spokesman Jay Dillon said.
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176 comments Add your comment
Angela
May 24th, 2010
11:21 am
@Poor (Proud Black Man),
You still have not acknowledged that you have some real personal issues that go far back to your childhood. As I told you and can respect you because you have admitted that you do not like Blacks however, as I stated it has been my experience that most BOGGOT don’t even know why they dislike people of a different race. I also, told you that your heart is limited in its life span. Your blood pressure seems to rise 30 points each time you send a response to an e-mail.
@realdawg – the first problem with school boards most of them don’t have a clue on how schools really function much less have an education beyond high school themselves and if they do it is nowhere towards edcuation. I have a true problems with someone telling me what should be done in my classroom when they don’t even have a clue to what the reality is in a classroom.
I do believe that all higher level administrators salaries should be capped especially in the central offices. I don’t know of any position in those offices that is worth 200K. Those salaries should not be any more than 120K and that is with the super. My salary is capped after I reach a certain step and I in many way have more education and experience than many of the administrator in Dekalb’s administration offices.
@frank – I am well aware by your comments that you are not in anyone’s school system. Just for the record we have moved into the 21st and 22nd century with teaching and instruction. I teach second grade and my students are taught from day one how to be self learner. They are usually cut loose within the first two months of school and they do well. If you would investigate majority (if not all)of Georgia school systems have specific strategic learning programs and they all teach students to become self-learners.
Please Please people before you comment on schools and the systems please have the facts and believe me if you are not in one of the schools or systems (I mean empolyed) you TRULY don’t have the facts that you think you have BELIEVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! HUGS & KISSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PR
May 24th, 2010
11:25 am
Does anyone else find it ironic that Andrew Thomas is dispensing advice about education and he does not seem to be able to grasp simple word usage like fare/fair and you’re/your? Please hand that man a mirror.
conservative democrat
May 24th, 2010
11:26 am
No administrator should make $1 more than the highest paid teacher in that system. Get a grip Georgia. Why would you think these people are more important than the Governor? These are not companies with shareholders and profits. These are bureaucrats. Hall was the one that thought it was a good idea to give teachers a bonus of $2000 if they could improve test scores. No wonder they were erasing wrong answers. Hawaii has one superintendent for the entire state.
These administration jobs could be filled with cops and accountants at $40,000 per year. The entire school leadership curriculum is a waste of time and money. If you don’t believe me, check it out for yourself. The research is clear. Look at what you’re getting for paying these top dollar salaries…the worst education system in the country…that’s what.
Andrew Thomas
May 24th, 2010
11:29 am
PR
May 24th, 2010
11:25 am
Does anyone else find it ironic that Andrew Thomas is dispensing advice about education and he does not seem to be able to grasp simple word usage like fare/fair and you’re/your? Please hand that man a mirror.
—————————————————-
Sorry I didn’t spend 10 minutes checking to make sure my post was to your standards of perfection. You understood the point, so move on.
PR
May 24th, 2010
11:34 am
@Andrew Thomas…Just making a point that you come across as very arrogant in your posts. Considering the nature in which you “correct” people, I found your careless mistakes interesting. I certainly hope it does not take you ten minutes to proofread a paragraph. Carry on
V for Vendetta
May 24th, 2010
11:36 am
Though often times the people in charge do not seem qualified enough for their respective positions (or salaries), the real problem is rooted in the strange concoction that is public school. It is true that the fundamental idea and execution of public schooling is indeed socialist, but it is also true that the matter is not so simple: there are other forms of funding to consider, and the level of local control minimizes some aspects of the socialist agenda.
We must compensate good leaders accordingly, but we must also have the power to fire poor ones. The real problem stems from the school boards themselves; they should be doing a better job as stewards of their districts, but in-fighting and nepotism blind them to the task at hand. Yes, if these were private companies, many of them would fail and go out of business–and rightly so. That is where the socialism of public schools complicates the matter.
What is the solution? Some maintain that in order to have an educated electorate, we must maintain public school in some form or fashion. Though I don’t necessarily agree with that position, I respect the idea. Personally, I think that all public money currently pouring into education (local, state, and federal) should be returned to the citizens from which it was collected. A network of private schools will replace the public schools, motivated by profits in the form of increased salaries paid to successful employees. (It is important to note that I do NOT support merit pay. I think successful teaching and valuable experience can be defined in myriad ways, not just by test scores.)
Of course, there will be those who cry out that many of America’s poor don’t pay taxes, so they will recieve nothing with which to pay for their children’s education. I have two responses to this argument: First, it would benefit private schools to set up scholarships in order to attract the “diamonds in the rough.” Secondly, as for everyone else, I honestly couldn’t care less. I think we should do away with welfare, too. But that’s just me.
V for Vendetta
May 24th, 2010
11:39 am
More than one paragraph = stuck in the filter?
I also want to point out how angry people get about our fast track to socialism, yet they feel that it is OK to place salary caps whenever it suits their purposes. As a teacher, I am NOT in favor of capping ANYONE’s salary. Though the system is socialist, we live in a free economy, one that trades value for value. We would do well to remember that.
d2
May 24th, 2010
11:47 am
disregard already sheared –it is a paid blogger by our wonderful state department of education
Andrew Thomas
May 24th, 2010
11:52 am
@PR
Do you have anything of substance to add to the blog debate? I imagine you would defend your bloated administrator salary 500 feet under the sea.
Yelp
May 24th, 2010
11:52 am
“I know another teacher moving to North Carolina because he is sick of Georgia.”
Good luck to him. NC wanted me to teach year-round for $30,000 with a Masters degree. I might as well work at McDonald’s.
@ conservative democrat
May 24th, 2010
11:55 am
What a weired idea you propose.
PR
May 24th, 2010
11:56 am
@Andrew Thomas, I actually believe superintendents and many administrators are grossly overpaid, but I do not think the broken system will change anytime soon. While I agree with much of your message, I do not care for the delivery style. I will leave you alone, though. I obviously struck a nerve.
Yelp
May 24th, 2010
11:58 am
I do agree that car and cell phone allowances are excessive for anyone who makes this kind of money. Also, the idea of reimbursing his own retirement is crazy. That should definitely be eliminated especially since it isn’t afforded to anyone else.
But Wilbanks, unlike other metro area supers, will actually be taking the furlough days right along with his staff. And he cannot receive a raise unless the other employees do. Since everyone’s salaries are being frozen, his pay will decrease just like everyone else. Gwinnett has also faired better than any other metro Atlanta district with regard to layoffs. Is he worth nearly $400k? That’s debatable, but with few teacher layoffs when compared to the rest of metro Atl, high graduation rates, and stellar schools clearly the man is doing something right.
Yelp
May 24th, 2010
12:01 pm
@AlreadySheared: we don’t pay the salaries of businessmen, rappers and ball players. We do pay into the salaries for our president and superintendents. Come back when you can make sense.
Yelp
May 24th, 2010
12:06 pm
“they make more than 6 or 7 teachers put together.”
Not just 6 or 7 teachers, but 6 or 7 teachers with 15+ years of experience. Those are the only teachers making $55k in this state. I have a friend with a PhD and 5 years of experience and she doesn’t even make that much.
Yelp
May 24th, 2010
12:07 pm
“Grasscutters are making over $50k in Henry county…”
Clearly a lot of us are in the wrong field
Yelp
May 24th, 2010
12:08 pm
My post about the average teacher making $55k was eaten. Did it mention how many years of experience these teachers had? It should.
AlreadySheared
May 24th, 2010
12:22 pm
@Yelp.
I’m back. You DO pay the salaries of businessmen, rappers and ball players when you pay for their goods and services. There isn’t anything magical about tax dollars – they spend just like all the rest.
Until you find a way to repeal market forces in a free society, we’ll have to pay somewhere near the going rate for superintendents. Wishing it weren’t so won’t change it.
Crunk D
May 24th, 2010
12:30 pm
We sure are paying a whole lot of money to end up in LAST PLACE with Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Andrew Thomas
May 24th, 2010
12:30 pm
AlreadySheared
May 24th, 2010
12:22 pm
@Yelp.
I’m back. You DO pay the salaries of businessmen, rappers and ball players when you pay for their goods and services. There isn’t anything magical about tax dollars – they spend just like all the rest.
Until you find a way to repeal market forces in a free society, we’ll have to pay somewhere near the going rate for superintendents. Wishing it weren’t so won’t change it.
—————————————————–
Taxation is forced by law, buying good and services is done by choice. When was the last time you were threatened with prison time for not going to a Brave’s game?
K Teacher
May 24th, 2010
12:35 pm
I don’t have a problem with a Superintendent making upwards of $200,000 to $300,000. I do have a problem with all of the underlings (asst. superintendents, lead teachers (IE: literacy coach, math coach, etc), curriculum specialists, etc, etc, getting paid $100,000 to fill up file cabinets coming up with more paper work that has nothing to do with the classroom or that directly affects or benefits our students.
K Teacher
May 24th, 2010
12:37 pm
Let us teach and stop changing things every couple years on the whims of a few who couldn’t cut it in the classroom or as an administrator.
V for Vendetta
May 24th, 2010
12:37 pm
AlreadySheared,
There IS a bit of a difference: I choose to support various businesses by paying for their good or services; however, tax dollars are extorted from me by force–with the threat of imprisonment if I do not pay. I decide what to do with my money; the government decides what to do with OTHER PEOPLE’S money. I would argue that one spends his own money more wisely than he spends another’s money.
HS tchr
May 24th, 2010
12:46 pm
School systems are NOT corporations and don’t need a CEO style leader. I most emphatically do not believe that a super should be compensated as they are in the metro area. It’s ridiculous and has not directly contributed to a single point of improvement on any test of children’s success. When supers were elected, they were more responsive to and concerned about parents, teacher, and other voters. I understand why that changed, but I don’t think the result thas helped any.
When schools and sytems became corporate career-ladder professions, the undoing of public education was begun. How nice it is to know you can run a school system and get full contractual payment regardless of performance. What a golden parachute the taxpayers are providing.
In my district, thankfully, the super is a member of the community and regularly meets with parents, teachers, and school administrators. She is approachable, frequently in contact with all employees, and easy to get to if you need to speak with her. She doesn’t have, because our county can’t afford, layer after layer of underlings to further separate her from the people she serves and manages. You could double or even triple my pay and I wouldn’t go back to metro ATL.
d2
May 24th, 2010
12:47 pm
Already Sheared is A PAID BLOGGER-TRUST ME
Gwinnett HS Teacher
May 24th, 2010
12:50 pm
I believe Wilbanks is properly compensated based on the number of employees he oversees. Gwinnett is consistently among the best school systems in the state and exceeds national averages in most categories. If the county’s educational system is successful, why shouldn’t the individual “in charge” be compensated appropriately?
Bottom line, you get what you pay for.
V for Vendetta
May 24th, 2010
12:54 pm
HS tchr,
“When schools and sytems became corporate career-ladder professions, the undoing of public education was begun.”
If you’re a teacher, statements such as this one confound me. Did I choose a life of indentured servitude when I became a teacher? Of course I knew the pay scale before I took the job, but I don’t remember assuming that I’d be stuck doing the same thing for thirty years with no hope of professional or financial improvement. We WANT teaching to be upwardly mobile; we WANT teachers to feel as though they can increase their pay; we WANT teachers to look towards the top of the system and think “why not me?”
Though I agree with many that merit pay is NOT the way to do it, I think a system CAN be put into practice that rewards teachers in some form or fashion. It might require a combination of professional development (including advanced degrees from reputable schools) and classroom observation/lesson plan creation and implementation, but I think it can be done.
This talk of salary capping and socialism is getting scary. It’s no wonder our country seems so content with its current direction. (I’m witholding further analysis until AFTER the election. I want to see if it really is an “anti-incumbant” year, or if people will fall back into the same old voting habits.)
Proud Black Man
May 24th, 2010
1:07 pm
@ Angela
I take no advice from the white right or their lapdog toms and sycophants.
d2
May 24th, 2010
1:09 pm
Guess what the superintendent and the board done in Macon, Ga. They forced teachers at four of the high schools to sign as part of their contract saying that they will show an increase in student performance as a condition for the hiring. Amazing–superintendents overpaid and power hungery too.
d2
May 24th, 2010
1:11 pm
should be hungry not hungrey—don’t worry someone will find fault wiht the typos I make.
john konop
May 24th, 2010
1:15 pm
We had Kathy Cox increase her staff at the DOE by 25% since 2006 and the local districts took care of high paid management while cutting teachers. This is not going to fly with voters.
Before we laid-off any teachers we should of done the following:
1) Cut the DOE by at least 50%
2) Cut all administrators salaries by 20% making over 6 figures.
3) Cut all administrators by 20%
4) Require all administrators to teach 1 class.
5) Charge a fuel fee to make bus service revenue neutral
6) Charge a fee for all extra activity at the school to make it revenue neutral
7) Put a freeze all new building and see if we can use cross utilize existing space ie high school class space for colleges courses at night.
Put a freeze on all travel and entertainment expense at the local level as well as the DOE
9) Increase lunch fees at a rate that it becomes revenue neutral
10) Solicit volunteer community help for office and class room assistants
It is very difficult to ask people to sacrifice when management will not do the same!
HS tchr
May 24th, 2010
1:24 pm
V- I’m a teacher and I’m all for teachers moving up and receiving incentives for better performance. What I don’t like is the notion that if you’re not shooting for a county office job, you’re just a useless wage-earner. I love being in the classroom and have no desire to leave- and haven’t after 22 years. In a corporate environment, if you’re not moving up in some way, then you’re nobody. Teaching is just not the same. There are those wonderful, beloved teachers who are perfect at what they are and shouldn’t feel bad because they aren’t interested in ever being anything else.
That was the only point I was trying to make. I think the pay caps are way beyond ridiculous. I hit the last step last year- didn’t get it and won’t get it this year, but maybe I will before I retire….I hope.
GSU Student
May 24th, 2010
1:26 pm
I never understand the premise that its ok to cut a superintedent’s pay from $400,000 to $125,000 and it makes the world fair. Teachers are complaining about furlough days and losing $2,000 dollars are more because of it, but yet find it acceptable to decrease someone esles pay by more than $200,000 plus thousands dollar. Why? To make them feel better. Teachers should not envy the successes of a superintendent. If the teachers blogging on this post are so effective and so great at their jobs then you should attempt to be a superintendent and walk a mile in their shoes. Criticizing those at the top is a easy thing to do, but moving beyond rhetoric and actually doing something takes more guts. If teachers are so conscious of pay and saving teachers job than those of you making $55,000 take a pay cut and save your fellow colleagues. Many of you won’t take the pay cut because it’s easier to reach into someone else’s pocket rather than your own.
Andrew Thomas
May 24th, 2010
1:27 pm
@john konop
You have great ideas. But, what you have proposed would require thinking that is different than our local districts current ideology. You are asking for administrators to make decisions that are in the best interest of the student.
GSU Student
May 24th, 2010
1:28 pm
I never understand the premise that its ok to cut a superintedent’s pay from $400,000 to $125,000 and it makes the world fair. Teachers are complaining about furlough days and losing $2,000 dollars are more because of it, but yet find it acceptable to decrease someone esles pay by more than $200,000 plus thousands dollar. Why? To make them feel better. Teachers should not envy the successes of a superintendent. If the teachers blogging on this post are so effective and so great at their jobs then you should attempt to be a superintendent and walk a mile in their shoes. Criticizing those at the top is a easy thing to do, but moving beyond rhetoric and actually doing something takes more guts. If teachers are so conscious of pay and saving teachers job than those of you making $55,000 take a pay cut and save your fellow colleagues. Many of you won’t take the pay cut because it’s easier to reach into someone else’s pocket rather than your own. Just a Thought
HS tchr
May 24th, 2010
1:35 pm
Guess I’m caught in the filter, AGAIN!!!
V- I’m a teacher, and I’m not saying there shouldn’t be incentives, raises, opportunities to move up. In a typical corporate environment, you’re either trying to move up or move out. I don’t think education should be that way. Schools do best when there are teachers in the schools for the long haul who know the communities they serve, and who are happy just being a teacher. Once upon a time, that meant you were respected on a level with a corporate exec. I think now you’re looked down upon if you’re not trying to get the next county office “promotion” or heading into leadership. We’re damaging schools when we encourage too much movement, and teachers are obviously the low man on the totem pole anymore.
That was my only point, I definitely think the salary cap is bull. I hit the last step last year, and might, MIGHT actually see that raise before I retire….I hope.
Yelp
May 24th, 2010
1:40 pm
“I’m back. You DO pay the salaries of businessmen, rappers and ball players when you pay for their goods and services. There isn’t anything magical about tax dollars – they spend just like all the rest.”
Yeah, I willingly pay for those services. They aren’t deducted from my pay every month nor are they optional. While we’re discussing goods and servies I do have clues for sale
GSU Student
May 24th, 2010
1:45 pm
Filter Done It Again
john konop
May 24th, 2010
1:45 pm
Andrew Thomas,
I think voters need to stand up and say enough is enough. And we may look at electing the School Superintendent.
Yelp
May 24th, 2010
1:46 pm
“Though I agree with many that merit pay is NOT the way to do it, I think a system CAN be put into practice that rewards teachers in some form or fashion. It might require a combination of professional development (including advanced degrees from reputable schools) and classroom observation/lesson plan creation and implementation, but I think it can be done.”
How is this different from the national board certification supplement that was just axed by the state?
Yelp
May 24th, 2010
1:50 pm
@john konop: Speaking of bussing, I was quite flabbergasted to learn theat metro Atlanta buses all students. In my day, you walked if you were within a mile. No wonder our kids are fat and lazy. There are kids being bussed one block from the school! Elementary I can kinda understand (though we walked then, too, and survived) but middle and high school kids within a mile of the school should definitely be able to WALK. That would save tons of $ on fuel costs. But what I do I know.
GSU Student
May 24th, 2010
1:50 pm
Superintendent pay reflect their responsibilities. Teachers should not be for the reduction of anyones pay in education. It amazing teachers want to decrease the pay of superintendents by a $100,000 or more , but complain about their pay being reduced by $2,000 due to furlough days. Teachers are being hypocritics in this sense, they are angry at the general public for saying “Teachers make to much money and the Teacher Retirement is a golden parachute” but then teachers attack professionals in their field saying” Superintendents make to much money”. Teachers can’t argue both sides. If teachers made $250,000 would they be happy with a $100,000 pay cut? Heck NO.
john konop
May 24th, 2010
1:50 pm
GSU Student,
It is not about making the world fair it is about leadership. I have successfully turned around companies in the red. And the key lesson I have learned is the concept of shared sacrifice not only breads loyalty but also creates productivity.
Yelp
May 24th, 2010
1:50 pm
*that, before the grammar police come for me.
john konop
May 24th, 2010
1:51 pm
Yelp ,
Very good point about walking!
Yelp
May 24th, 2010
1:52 pm
“Teaching is just not the same. There are those wonderful, beloved teachers who are perfect at what they are and shouldn’t feel bad because they aren’t interested in ever being anything else. ”
This is why I left the field, tapped out after seven years. I came in when NCLB was fresh and things just have not been the same since the almighty test reigns supreme.
Yelp
May 24th, 2010
1:54 pm
“teachers are so conscious of pay and saving teachers job than those of you making $55,000 take a pay cut and save your fellow colleagues. Many of you won’t take the pay cut because it’s easier to reach into someone else’s pocket rather than your own.”
Many have taken the cut AND some, and many jobs have been saved as a result. Yet folks are still being laid on in some counties in spite of. Know what you’re talking about before blabbing.
Yelp
May 24th, 2010
1:57 pm
GSU student: many of the people posting here have agreed with your stance and some are indeed teachers. Many of the people who are dismayed by the salaries are NOT teachers, but ARE tax paying citizens. Did you even bother to READ the thread?? Good grief.
Gilmer County
May 24th, 2010
2:07 pm
We’ve been given 10 furlough days for next year and we have taken a 4% cut locally. However, NO ONE, I repeat, NO ONE, at the system level has had to take a cut because they negotiate their own contracts with the school board. Whatever happened to “leading by example?”
Andrew Thomas
May 24th, 2010
2:07 pm
GSU Student
May 24th, 2010
1:50 pm
————————————————–
Do you pay property tax? How about income tax?