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
GSU Student
May 24th, 2010
11:38 pm
*minute
ElemPal
May 25th, 2010
1:53 am
Let me start by saying I don’t want to trade places with my superintendent. You couldn’t pay me enough to do his job. (I am outside the metro area, so his salary isn’t listed) However, for those of you who seem to think that ALL administrators sit around all day and eat bon-bons – I would challenge you to follow some of us around for a day.
It seems that many of the bloggers want to put all administrators in the same mold. As an elementary school principal, my job is make sure my teachers can do their jobs effectively. If this means I take the student who is disrupting others to my office for some one-on-one tutoring, then so be it. If it means that I intercept the angry parent and solve a problem without disturbing instruction, then I do it. If I need to teach a class so the assigned teacher can visit the classroom of a peer, then it is done.
If I have a teacher who is ineffective, then I work with her, help her make changes, and monitor her progress, documenting every discussion so that children are not in the classroom with an ineffective teacher. And in between those things I work with the cafeteria manager to be sure everything is up and running for breakfast and lunch. I work with the custodial staff to take care of everything from the cleaning schedule to repairing the lawnmower. It is my responsibility to walk the grounds to be sure our campus is clean and safe.
I meet with the school council, the Title I committee, the parent involvement committee, the media committee, the school improvement team, the grade levels, and the student council, as well as any parent who shows up at my door.
I make home visits to speak with parents who cannot make it to the school. I collect clothing for students who have outgrown theirs. I solicit donations to help support the work of our school. I walk the halls and visit classrooms every day.
When everyone leaves for the day, I retire to my office to start the load of paperwork that must be done. Federal and state reports, local informational reporting, documenting of classroom visits, signing every application for sick/personal leave, checking purchase orders and funds (which can be a real challenge when there is no money!), monitoring reading and math achievement, planning professional learning, finding ways to recognize teachers and students for outstanding work, and updating my calendar to be sure I don’t miss an IEP meeting or an ESOL meeting, or a county principal’s meeting.
Then I leave the school, often making stops at Wally World or an office supply store to pick up supplies for the office or teacher projects since our county does not allow anyone other than the principal to use the school credit card or write a school check.
And now, at 1:40 am, I am finishing up some work and catching up on the newspaper.
One poster suggested cutting administrator salaries by 20%. I have already taken over 12% in paycuts this year – in addition to the 6 furlough days taken by all employees in my system. I am almost back to my salary of 5 years ago. I have degrees from reputable research institutions, 20 years of experience, and National Board Certification. I cry each time I have to announce another furlough day because I know what it is doing to my teachers – but as the sole support for my family – I also feel the pain.
So to those who think we are all sitting around counting our money, rethink this idea.
concerned
May 25th, 2010
2:16 am
DCSS supt Crawford Lewis was overpaid and we allowed this to happen. What will happen with his retirement if he is convicted?
Why does DCSS has a Senator working in the Central Office? Is Ronald Ramsey head of Internal Affairs for the DCSS and Senator Ronald Ramsey that send me emails?
Hmmmmmmmmmm wonder how much he gets paid!
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john konop
May 25th, 2010
6:33 am
GSU Student,
First Andrew and I comment under our real names. Second you do not post under your name so we have no idea what you are hiding behind. Third even if you are telling the truth it does not sound like you pay much in Income tax if at all. Forth the school you attend is subsidized by federal income taxes and at your income level your 6% sales tax does pay for much. Finally money does not fall from tress and the State Superintendent job is paid by tax payers it is not a private sector job. Do you understand the difference? And if you do not, read ‘Wealth of Nations “ by Adam Smith and it might help you understand.
pay
May 25th, 2010
7:15 am
if you cut the pay in half of these super, highly quilified ppl would still jump on these jobs. as stated ealier “you cant do anything about me” is true. elected postions would be much better
pay
May 25th, 2010
7:27 am
seems some county office workers and DOE are busy on the blogs today: DD, bluedawg, gsu stu,
Classroom teachers are the most important thing
here is an example to hlp some
are you concerned with who is the fire chief while a fireman is pulling your a$$ from a burning building
catlady
May 25th, 2010
7:44 am
Perhaps each paper could publish how much goes into salary for nonteaching positions, broken down by local administrators, county level administrators, academic coaches, maintenance, janitorial, mean service, bus garage, IT, and how much of it comes from local taxpayers, stimulus money, and how much from state coffers. I think THEN you would see it hit the fan! The amount of local money that goes into these (sometimes) “reward” positions is phenomenal.
I’d also call on some of our local papers to have a functional audit of the positions, including teaching positions of those with family members and coaches and their spouses. I think it would be eye-opening to see that many of them have positions where their student contact hours are severely less than other similar employees.
catlady
May 25th, 2010
7:47 am
I am two for two today with the filter.
Teacher Reader
May 25th, 2010
8:59 am
Our schools are failing and we are focusing on pay? This does not make sense to me.
Our schools are failing because of these and other reasons:
1. The best person is not hired for a job. We have numerous people in my district who have no experience in the the job that they have, but they are a friend or a family member of a current or former school board member or other paid administrator and so they keep their jobs, while people who truly care about the education of our children have been let go.
2. We do not hold our students to high standards. School board members, Superintendents, Principals, and others want teachers to provide parents with customer service. They want parents to feel good about their children and if a parent thinks their child should get an A, then their child should receive an A.
3. There is very little discipline in our schools for the same reasons. We don’t want to upset parents or inconvenience them. We would rather allow kids to disrupt the education of others.
4. Principals are looked down on for having taken too many discipline actions in our schools. If a principal tries to crack down, than they are not thought of as a good principal.
5. Our CRCTs do not truly measure our children’s ability to read or perform math problems. When a child can get half of the 60 or 75 questions incorrect and still get a meets expectations, we have problems, because that type of score would earn a child an F in my class.
6. Not making children accountable for their actions. In my district, we have to give children multiple times to complete their work/homework. We are not able to give zeros or fail a child even when he has not completed his work. How is this helping the children?
7. School Board members who get paid for their office and do not take a pay hit, even though they have voted for others to loose their job and/or take furlough days.
8. Top heavy school systems that take away learning from our children.
9. Giving modified work to our special education students, instead of the instructional help that could help them to over come their disabilities and get them out of special education all together.
10. Buying programs, instead of allowing teachers to teach. Most programs do not work. The research done on them, are paid for by the company selling the product and usually have very small samples, which do not show very much in the long run.
11. Expecting teachers to take on and sponsor clubs and extra duties without wanting to pay them for their time.
12. The difficulty of getting rid of poor teachers.
13. The poor professional development that I have had as a teacher here in Georgia, compared to other places that I have taught.
14. Not checking up on how Title One funds are spent by our school. Are these dollars being used in the best, most effective way to help our children?
15. Not checking on Free and Reduced lunch forms. We have many principals and teachers guiding parents on how to fill out the forms, so that their school receives more funding. I have seen children whose parents drive a BMW getting free lunch-something is wrong when there is no checks and balances with this program and way of school funding.
16. Our grounds and maintenance people make more money than our teachers. This goes for many secretaries in our central offices as well.
I do not begrudge any administrator having their cell phone paid for or transportation allowances, for traveling from school to school. A principal, administrator, superintendent should not be paid travel allowances for getting to/from the school system from their home-this is called a commute.
When the cuts were made this spring in our schools, The people making these cuts did not take time to look at how these cuts could be made, so that they would have less of an impact on our children. Who could we let go of people in our central office and keep more teachers in our schools? The answer is yes.
Our school systems are producing children who are unable to compete in the Global Market. We are producing children who want to be taken care of, instead of finding ways to take care of themselves. In my fifteen years of teaching, I see our students are being dumbed down. I see expectations for children lowered.
I do not see our public schools getting better any time soon. My last day of teaching in Georgia was Friday. I will homeschool my children, so that I ensure they are able to compete in the World and have the ability to take care of themselves on many levels.
john konop
May 25th, 2010
9:01 am
ElemPal,
I suggested that any administrator making over 100 k take a 20% pay cut. Do you not think they should take a way higher percentage cut than a teacher making 40K? Do you not think a 40k teacher does not have bills as well? As far as the hours many managers in the private sector at that pay scale also work with similar dedication to their jobs. I take calls 7 days a week at all hours even before I became a CEO. If you work in the private in may cases that is the rules of the game.
Also if you taught 1 class a day it would not only save money put but you more in touch with issues your teachers and students face. This is called hands on management.
And you have to admit it was outrageous that the first cuts did not affect high paid management but instead focused on the core part of your budget teachers. And one 6 figure management cut represented 2 to 3 teachers. This is the same tough call people like me make everyday in the private sector.
Finally unless you are willing to sacrifice in tough times and focus on core essentials your employees will backlash. And as a tax payer I would rather have my dollars focused on the classroom than on non-essential management.
Dr. John Trotter
May 25th, 2010
10:03 am
Superintendents with the largest salaries? What do they have in common? They have kissed more butts, eaten more boogers, stepped on more surbordinates, and told more lies than the average administrator. Boy, it’s fun being a free man. I love it!
Bree
May 25th, 2010
10:28 am
I wish a large group of displaced teachers would get together and teach the administrators a lesson by forming their OWN schools, supported by businesses. We can be proactive and DEMAND that the buildings be given back to the taxpayers! Let them decide. This is a great opportunity for a movement to take place and replace the BROKEN system.
Understanding Atlanta
May 25th, 2010
11:03 am
Teachers should teach…when it comes to running a school system, I believe the problem we get into is we all of a sudden have teachers that are probably good inside the classroom, trying to be administrators of hundreds (for principals) and thousands (for school systems) people.
Being an administrator requires a different skillset than teaching. Balancing a budget, finding money in an already tight budget to keep programs open for students is an entirely different set of skills that running a single classroom. How do you handle conflicts among faculty? How do you handle irate parents? How do you handle a 20% budget reduction withou sacrificing instruction? These are questions a super has to answer. There must be a way to get the person with the right qualifications in, and I don’t think teachers are always best to fill the position. And yes I know the super is over the system’s curriculm and should bring in a team with expertise, but the Super’s expertise should be in administration.
IEP
May 25th, 2010
11:24 am
realdawg….As a graduate of Fairfax County schools, the child of a FCPS employee and a teacher in Cobb, I can tell you that Fairfax has it’s own set of issues. It is very poorly managed and the children are the ones harmed. Principals have free reign just like in our metro area and often abuse the power.
HS tchr
May 25th, 2010
11:31 am
ElemPal- you’re the example of exactly what most are talking about. In the rural counties, we’re all part of the process, even the super. You have to realize that in metro ATL things are much more political and much more corporate. They’ve had too much money for too long. Those like you and me, who are already in poorer counties, are used to doing a lot for nothing, and we’re used to knowing what our super is doing. You have to love the job to teach in the poorer counties. There are too many in administrative positions in the metro area who are just in for the money, the career ladder, and the corporate perks.
Angela
May 25th, 2010
1:24 pm
@Teacher Reader,
Yes, that is DCSS.
ElemPal
May 25th, 2010
2:28 pm
To John Knopp –
I have already taken what amounts to about 15% (cuts + furlough days). I don’t make over $100,000 but I WAS close. I didn’t say anything about teachers not having bills to pay or that they should take the brunt of the cuts. I did not say anything about administrators not taking cuts. In my county the cuts started with a pay cut by the superintendent. (a higher percentage than the rest of us) Then, the other administrators took a pay cut. Then, the furlough days started.
My purpose was to let some posters know that not all administrators sit around doing nothing. Most of us work very hard – just like our teachers. Most of us are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to take care of the students in our buildings – just like our teachers.
I can assure you, I don’t get a long list of perks. The perks that get me through the day are the hugs of the students and the respect of my teachers.
Having worked in the private sector for several years, I will tell you that I have never worked as hard as I do as an elementary principal. Like you, I take calls 7 days a week. I work whatever hours are necessary to see that the school operates smoothly and that my teachers have as little stress as possible. Oh yes, just so you know, I do co-teach a class.
I am not suggesting that the cuts be put on the teachers. I will take my cuts just like everyone else. I will make the sacrifices needed. Just know that not all administrators are unnecessary.
john konop
May 25th, 2010
3:31 pm
ElemPal ,
I do not think all administrators are unnecessary they are just not a core need over a classroom. And in most districts the high paid administrators did not take cuts.
……The AJC analysis found that while metro school districts have laid off “central office staff,” most of those cuts are lower-salaried jobs, not high-paid administrators. (Many of these folks function as cabinets to the superintendents, and I think few leaders ever want to get rid of their personal posses.)……
Also Kathy Cox grew the DOE massive staff by 25% since 2006 while teachers got pink slip and or cuts. As a tax payer why do you think this is good policy?
@ Teacher Reader
May 25th, 2010
8:57 pm
I know you must teach for DeKalb Schools just from your comments.
Understanding Atlanta
May 26th, 2010
9:27 am
Most people here are missing the mark. The success of a school system lies in the hands of parents. The best performing schools have GREAT parent participation. You can have a horrible superintendent, horrible principal, and mediocre teachers but with parent participation the school will succeed.
Why is that? DISCIPLINE. What schools lack now is discipline. Neither teachers nor administrators for that matter can overcome a student or group of students that lack discipline. I understand someone has to be a fault, and the superintendent is the likely fall guy because they’re at the helm of this big ship. But let’s look at the real issue, and it’s not those that read these blogs and play an active role in their child’s education. It’s those that don’t
Understanding Atlanta
May 26th, 2010
9:32 am
Why do we continue to blindly blame superintendents. Yes they are the highest paid employee of the school system and have ultimate responsibility. But let’s take a look at where student performance starts. HOME.
It doesn’t matter how good a superintendent is, it’s about parent participation. When I was in DCSS, my school’s performance didn’t increase until the school put a program in place to increase parent participation. We were in lower income community and put in a parent resource center to help with employment, job skills, and the such. This increased parent participation thus performance also increased.
john konop
May 26th, 2010
10:10 am
Understanding Atlanta ,
Why should we pay superintendent so much money if you think they very little impact on student performance?
john konop
May 26th, 2010
10:12 am
sorry,
Why should we pay superintendent so much money if you think they have very little impact on student performance?
Robin
May 26th, 2010
9:39 pm
Also, go to the website open.georgia.gov and look at the amount of money paid to the people who work in school district offices. There are a lot of Directors, Psychologists and Coordinators being paid top dollar. IF they were CEO’s with private companies, like many private companies here in Georgia then they would have already had a 30 to 50% pay cut, all perks gone and thankful they still have a job. LET’S TRIM THE FAT FROM THE TOP!! These Super Intendant’s and administration have not proven that they deserve what they make. Last time I checked, we were last or second to last in the country for Education. Oh, don’t forget to look at how much we pay for interpreter’s so that we can teach kids English at school. If I have to have to have my child potty trained before she enters Elementary school, then it’s the parent’s responsibility to have their child speak English.
NGSU
May 30th, 2010
1:11 pm
GSU Student: What you fail to see is the Supers don’t teach my kids, they have NO bearing on their success, even though they get incentives when scores go up. Why? I should get something because I allow my kids, who test high, to take the test, which give the Supers a pay raise and help the system/school look good on paper. That is backward, because the teacher who actually has contact with students get nothing. The Supers are the biggest illusion to effective school systems. Recent events show they take money, live like their CEO’s, but get paid with tax payer dollars, not dollars a company produces in a free market.
Why does education pay more to people who don’t teach, want out of classrooms, have very little classroom experience, and just because their in Administration, they are afforded higher pay? Pay the people that work daily with students, not those who run away from them!