School chiefs’ salaries on rise

They outpace teacher raises

— Salaries for school district superintendents have grown slightly faster than teacher salaries in recent years.

Superintendent salaries grew on average by 8.7 percent since the 2005-06 school year, the earliest period for which the Department of Education has such data.

Teacher salaries went up 6.2 percent.

The Pulaski County Special School District paid out the most in superintendent pay at $411,281 in 2008-09, about four times the state average.

The amount in Pulaski County was driven by the buyout of the superintendent last year.

Superintendent jobs are competitive and salaries often have a domino effect when one district raises its superintendent’s salary, Pine Bluff Superintendent Frank Anthony said.

“Demand exceeds supply,” said Anthony, whose $138,750 salary last year was bumped up to $150,000 this year.

Superintendent salaries increased from $93,833 on average in 2005-06 to $102,014 in 2008-09, according to an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette analysis of Department of Education data on salaries from the state’s 244 districts.

Average teacher salaries increased from $43,088 to $45,761 during the same period.

Sen. Jimmy Jeffress, DCrossett, a retired teacher,said he once looked at superintendents’ salaries “with a bit of wonder and awe” and questioned whether they deserved the money.

“As I matured and got older I decided that in most instances they probably do,” said Jeffress, chairman of the Senate Education Committee. “In others, I’m not so sure. But you probably get what you pay for.”

He cited Springdale as a “well-managed” district that can justify the high salary for its superintendent, Jim Rollins. Springdale paid its superintendent $206,699 in 2008-09, the third-highest salary for that school year.

High superintendent salaries are worth it for districts if they can stay out of financial and academic problems, Jeffress said.

Costly contract buyouts, however, can be “egregious,” Jeffress said.

He said he understands that superintendents need the security of three-year contracts but that doesn’t make six-figure buyouts more acceptable.

Some examples:

In March, the contract of Pulaski County Special School District Superintendent James Sharpe was bought out after a dispute with board members over building conditions and other problems. He received a buyout of $185,000.

During the 2005-06 school year, the Russellville superintendent, Danny Taylor, received $258,407 in a buyout because of concerns over his health. That amount included $130,952 in salary and $127,455 for 207 unused sick days and 38 unused vacation days.

In 2007, the Little Rock superintendent, Roy Brooks, was fired and received a $635,000 severance. Board members were divided over Brooks with opponents believing he didn’t do enough to help lowincome students. A year later, the state Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of superintendent buyouts.

Districts with higher-paid superintendents generally had higher-paid teachers.

But that’s not always the case.

Deer-Mount Judea Superintendent Richard Denniston ranked 88th in salary in 2008-09 with $99,165.

The district’s teachers had the third-lowest average salary at $36,665.

Denniston said his pay is fair. He said he’s been on the job for 17 years, a tenure longer than most superintendents have with their districts. Plus, he said he’s helped keep the district from being consolidated by lobbying the Legislature to pass a law increasing funding for “isolated” districts, such as Deer-Mount Judea.

“I have been able to pass legislation to make sure we stayed intact,” Denniston said. “Had it not been for my 24-7 efforts, we would have been out. I think I’ve shown my heart is keeping Deer and Mount Judea open.”

Rounds of district consolidation from 2004 to 2006 reduced the number of superintendents but raised superintendent salaries in districts that took in other districts, Anthony said.

“It impacts the size and responsibility in those districts,” he said. “The job is tough. People have to be compensated for it.”

Over the past four years, average superintendent salaries increased the most from 2005-06 to 2006-07, jumping from $93,833 to $101,258. That’s when the number of districts decreased from 252 to 245.

Since then, the average superintendent salary has remained fairly constant.

Teacher salaries increased dramatically after the Supreme Court’s school-funding ruling in the case involving the Lake View district in 2002.

The court decision led the Legislature to raise taxes by about $400 million a year to pump more money into schools.

From 2002-03 to 2004-05, average teacher salaries increased from $37,536 to $41,489. Data were unavailable at the Department of Education to show how much superintendent salaries increased during this time.

Teacher-salary increases have slowed of late. By 2008-09, the average was $45,761.

As with teachers, larger districts typically offer higher pay than smaller districts.

Of the top 10 average salaries paid last year to superintendents, eight districts have more than 8,000 students.

Of the 10 lowest averages, nine have fewer than 1,000 students.

Fayetteville Superintendent Vicki Thomas is among the highest paid at $200,000 a year.

She said some administrators prefer to work in a “smaller setting and are willing to take less compensation for that. It’s a pretty complex position. You deal with a lot of things and wear a lot of hats.”

Front Section, Pages 1 on 12/28/2009

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