GREEN BAY– Superintendents are essentially the CEOs of school districts. They're the highest-ranked administrative official, which also makes them the highest-paid.
So how much do school superintendents make in the Green Bay area?
About$182,448 a year on average,according to contracts obtained by the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
That includes the superintendents of the Green Bay, Ashwaubenon, De Pere, Howard-Suamico and West De Pere school districts.
The Green Bay School District, the largest in the area and the fourth largest district in Wisconsin by enrollment, pays Interim Superintendent Vicki Bayer $225,000— the highest amongthe five districts.
However,former Green Bay Superintendent Steven Murley, who resigned in April,made about $30,000 more.
The Green Bay School District is about to launch a search for its next leader and will be determining pay for the new superintendent who willstart July 1.
Green Bay School Board President Laura McCoy declined to comment on factors the board considers when determining superintendent pay, and other board members didn't respond to requests for interviews.
Looking at last year's statewide compensation data, the Green Bay School District paid Murley the third-highest superintendentsalary with Madison and Milwaukee taking the top two spots. Madison's leadermade about $277,440 andMilwaukee's superintendent made$267,393.
The Press-Gazette also reviewed salaries for local school principals and found that those in Green Bay make less than their peers in neighboring districts.
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Among superintendents, the top administrators in a public school district, the average salary statewide was about $141,000 for the 2021-2022 school year across 445 districts.
Damian LaCroix, the superintendent for the Howard-Suamico School District, will make $203,626 this year, about $13,000more than he was paidlast year.
West De Pere's Dennis Krueger will earn $166,955, a $7,500 increase over last year. InAshwaubenon,Kurt Weyers received a $4,700 salary increase this year, bringing hisannual salary to $161,661.
De Pere pays its new superintendent, Chris Thompson, $155,000.
Here's how much superintendents make in the Green Bay area, from highest to lowest:
- Green Bay School District:
- Vicki Bayer: $225,000
- Enrollment:19,166
- Fourth largest district in the state
- Howard-Suamico School District:
- Damian LaCroix: $203,626
- Enrollment: 5,879
- 25th largest district in the state
- West De Pere School District:
- Dennis Krueger: $166,954.67
- Enrollment: 3,586
- 52nd largest district in the state
- Ashwaubenon School District:
- Kurt Weyers: $161,661.24
- Enrollment: 3,257
- 65th largest district in the state
- De Pere School District:
- Chris Thompson: $155,000
- Enrollment:4,536
- 39th largest district
Those figures representtheir salaries. Superintendents often receive other compensation in the form of insurance benefits, professional development, association memberships, additional retirement contributions and driving stipends.
Other benefits and compensationfor superintendents
Most school boards give superintendents retirement benefits on top of the employer contributions to the Wisconsin Retirement System. Those benefits are typically in the form oftax-sheltered annuity plans ortax-deferred annuity plans.
Here's what each district offers their superintendents as additional retirement compensation:
Ashwaubenon:The superintendent gets an amount equal to a portion of their annual salarycontributedto a tax-sheltered annuity plan. The percentage is equal to the number of years the person has worked in the district multiplied by 1.5, with a cap of 15% of the annual salary after a decade of working there.
Weyers has been in the district for 15 years, meaning he's reached the 15%cap oncontributions. He's eligible to receive about $24,200in annuity payments each year.
Green Bay: The schoolboard provides$10,000 each year to contribute to whatever retirement account the superintendent chooses.
Howard-Suamico:Each year the district contributes 6% of the superintendent's salary into atax-sheltered annuity planortax-deferred annuity plan. This year, that would be about $12,200.
De Pere: The district's additional retirement contributions depend on the administrator's experience level and how long they've worked in the district. If asuperintendent is 55 years old and has either 15 years of administrative experience— 10 of which are in the district— or 20 years of work experience in the district and five years in an administrative position, they can receive additional benefits.
Since it's Thompson's first year with the district, he does not yet qualify for additional retirement benefits.
West De Pere:The superintendent gets an additional $3,000 contributed to the Wisconsin Retirement System each year.
As for other perks, LaCroix in Howard-Suamico is the only superintendent who receivesa driving stipend, based on the contracts the Press-Gazette reviewed. He receives $500 a month for driving throughout the district.
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All other superintendents in the Green Bay area are reimbursed at the Internal Revenue Service recommended mileage reimbursem*nt rate of 65.5 cents per mile of driving.
Other compensation that superintendents receiveare comprehensive life insurance policies, in addition to their traditional health benefits. Districts also pay for memberships in professional organizations and cover costs for continued education.
For example, the Green Bay School District pays up to $325 in membership dues a year and up to $20,000 a year for tuition or staff development. There is a cap of six college credits every five years.
In De Pere, the district will pay for the expenses for the superintendent to attend a statewide and a national conference each year.
The Howard-Suamico School District also pays for LaCroix's internet at home and his cellphone.
West De Pere pays for $400 a year worth of wellness-related items and services, such as a gym membership, for its superintendent, Krueger.
Who decides how much superintendents get paid and how do they decide?
Superintendent pay is up to local school boards, so pay and benefits vary from district to district.
There are some typical factors that school boards consider when determining pay, according to Ben Niehaus, director of member services forthe Wisconsin Association of School Boards. The association serves as a member organization for school boards and also offers superintendent headhunting services.
How much experience a candidate has working as a superintendent and education level can affect pay. The characteristics of the district are also factors.
Urban districts tend to pay more than rural ones, and the same goes for districts with more students.
Through its superintendent search services, the association provides compensation data based on the district's location, athletic conference and enrollment, which can all influence pay.
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Niehaus said there has also been a key shift in thesuperintendent job market that's affectingpay:a decrease in the number of available applicants, let alone applicants with superintendent experience.
It creates a push-and pull dynamic for compensation.
Fewer experienced applicants means districts have to keep pay competitive to attract candidates. But if the applicant pool hasless experience, a districtwon't pay a first-time superintendent the same assomeone who's had the role before.
"We're seeing candidates that have less administrative experience moving in and applying, andit's becoming more and more challenging (to get candidates)," he said.
Superintendent pay may seem high, but it's important to remember district leaders are essentially operating large-scale organizationsand are qualified to move into the private sector, Niehaus said.
For example, Bayer oversees 3,000 employees, an annual operating budget of over $290 million and 42schools for the Green Bay School District.
"Superintendents ... they really are the CEOs ofmultimillion-dollar businesses. I think sometimes that's forgotten," Niehaus said."The school districts are accountable, obviously to the citizens and the taxpayers not unlikeelective shareholders in private industry — this is a very high-demand, high-stress position."
For comparison, Associated Bank with its4,000employees paidits CEO Andrew Harmening asalary of $675,000 last year, according to Security and Exchange Commission filings.
WEC Energy Group, which is the parent company of Wisconsin Public Service and We Energies, paidits former CEOJ. Kevin Fletcher more than $1.1 million last year. The company has about 6,900 employees across all its subsidiaries.
How much are principals paid?
While the Green Bay School District has the highest-paid superintendent in the area, it has the lowest-paid principals, making about $110,000 a year on average.
The Press-Gazette analyzed the Department of Public Instruction's public administrative salary database to see how much principals make, on average, in each district:
- West De Pere School District: $132,000
- De Pere School District: $131,144
- Ashwaubenon School District: $118,502
- Howard-Suamico School District: $115,124
- Green Bay School District: $110,275
Jeff Bollier of the the Press-Gazette contributed to this report.
Danielle DuClos is a Report for America corps member who covers K-12 education for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at dduclos@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @danielle_duclos. You can directly support her work with a tax-deductible donation at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Green Bay Press Gazette Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Dr, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.
