Superintendent salary: How 3 states aim to cap the pay of top K12 educators

The most drastic proposal, from Texas, would prevent public officials from earning more than the state's governor. Another bill links the salaries of superintendents to first-year teachers.

The much-coveted superintendent salary is under the microscope in at least three states where lawmakers have proposed capping the pay of K12 leaders.

The most drastic superintendent salary bill is being introduced in Texas, where a Republican legislator wants to prevent any state or local employee from taking home more than the state’s governor, Greg Abbott, who earns $153,750 annually. “State and local taxpayer-funded salaries have skyrocketed out of control,” said Rep. Brian Harrison, the bill’s sponsor. “No bureaucrat in Texas has more authority, staff, budget responsibility, or constituents than the governor of Texas. Bureaucrats should not get rich off the backs of hard-working Texans.”

The rule, if approved, would not lead to superintendent salary cuts as it would only apply to contracts created after Sept. 1, 2023. The proposal has received a range of responses on social media:

Superintendent salary showdowns

Lawmakers in North Dakota are not only looking to restrict superintendent salaries, but they also want to limit the number of superintendents in the state. The proposed Students and Taxpayers Opportunity Act would cap salaries at “one and one-half percent of the total state and local general fund revenue received by the school district.”

It would also require the smallest districts to have only one superintendent for every 475 students. When a district’s enrollment drops below that number, officials can request a year-long exemption from the new policies, which, proponents say, would free up $13 million in annual education funding.

However, the bill was met with intense opposition in its initial public hearing earlier this year. Dozens of K12 administrators, school board members and others warned that the Students and Taxpayers Opportunity Act could make it harder for districts to hire new leaders, would not save as much money as its proponents expect, and would infringe on local decision-making.


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Rick Diegel, who serves as the superintendent of the Kidder County and Linton school districts, said traveling between his two districts keeps him away from home from about 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Since he began serving both districts, he has had to hand off many of his former responsibilities. “I used to sub-bus drive, coach JH girls’ basketball, ref most elementary and junior high school basketball games, cover for teachers that are gone, have recess duty, have bus duty,” he said. “I also do not have the personal relationships that I used to have with students.”

Britney Gandhi, the superintendent and high school principal for the Richland #44 School District, said the proposal would force her to hire new staff, swallowing up any savings. “Aside from the misconception of saved funds, this bill will drive away superintendents from North Dakota,” she said. “Every state in the country is looking for qualified school district leaders and would happily take our best and brightest.”

Meanwhile in Nebraska, a bipartisan group of senators is pushing to limit the pay of K12 leaders under the Superintendent Pay Transparency Act passed by the state several years ago. The bill, which has not yet had a public hearing, would prevent school boards could from paying a superintendent more than five times the salary of a beginning teacher in the same district.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Dave Murman—who has also pressured the Nebraska Department of Education to stop promoting comprehensive sex education on its website—told the Omaha World-Herald that he intends to encourage superintendents to “prioritize teacher pay.” But some education officials told the World-Herald that such a cap could put Nebraska’s districts at a competitive disadvantage when searching for new superintendents.

Outgoing Omaha Public Schools Superintendent Cheryl Logan’s earns about $516,000 annually in salary and other benefits while a beginning teacher in the district earns about $78,000 to $79,000, Spencer Head, Omaha’s school board president, told the World-Herald.

Matt Zalaznick
Matt Zalaznick
Matt Zalaznick is a life-long journalist. Prior to writing for District Administration he worked in daily news all over the country, from the NYC suburbs to the Rocky Mountains, Silicon Valley and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He's also in a band.

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