Over 30 percent of readers responding to last week’s 30-minute survey indicated their superintendents take on additional administrative roles, such as principal or special education coordinator. The practice saves districts money by eliminating the need for additional administration staff, readers said.
A wide majority of respondents, however, believes that the proposed superintendent salary caps, scheduled to go into effect Feb. 7, would discourage the practice. As now written, the proposed regulation would not allow for additional compensation when a superintendent takes on an additional administrative role.
Following are results of last week’s survey:
 Does your superintendent serve in an additional capacity within your district, such as principal or special education coordinator?
| In addition to serving as chief school administrator, the superintendent also serves as— |
| Principal |
50% |
| Special Education Coordinator |
13% |
| Curriculum Supervisor |
15.2% |
| Other |
10.9% |
Multiple Additional Responsibilities
…principal, curriculum supervisor, special education coordinator, tech coordinator, personnel director |
10.9% |
| Estimate the savings achieved by the superintendent fulfilling additional responsibilities. |
| $25,000 - $49,999 |
17.2% |
| $50,000 - $74,999 |
11.5% |
| $75,000 - $99,999 |
30.8% |
| $100,000 - $149,999 |
26.9% |
| $150,000 - $199,999 |
7.7% |
| $200,000 or more |
7.7% |
 What will be the impact of the proposed salary caps on superintendents holding additional administrative responsibilities?
Respondents provided comments on the impact of salary caps on superintendents assuming additional administrative responsibilities. Selected comments follow:
- The Governor should incorporate an allowed stipend to be added to the Superintendent's salary for additional responsibilities, such as Principal or Curriculum Director.
- My hope is that caps help reduce the cost of education system wide, not excluding the obscene cost of higher education.
- …administrators who hold multiple positions should be paid for each position they hold with at least a stipend for the other positions.
- With compensation capped, those additional duties - salary and benefits - will have to be completed by another individual
- CSAs who currently have multiple responsibilities and are being paid more than the cap will end up leaving the district. Finding a replacement will be difficult and will cause districts to split out the duties that were consolidated to save money.
- It is one of the most effective methods of cost savings for a small district. Salary for Super/Principal is approximately $140,000. If we separate: Super - $125,000 (salary cap) and $90,000 principal. …caps not thought out!!!
- …may end up costing more as you will need two different individuals to handle the jobs
- The salary cap will promote the need for districts that previously had their superintendents holding dual positions to hire other staff to fill those roles if the compensation…does not adequately reflect the added duties, time, and responsibilities of the multiple jobs. Any cost savings realized through the cap would easily be negated by the need for additional administrative staff.
- If we really want to get control of costs, we need to get rid of tenure across the board. The time for tenure has past. It is time for educators to compete in the market place. I know many educators are opposed to this. I think the very good educators will be surprised to see how well they are rewarded once we can stop diluting their salaries to subsidize the poor educators.
This week’s SBN 30-Second Survey addresses school districts’ entry into the world of online courses. |
