A handful of state legislatures this year are considering limits on how much school districts can pay their superintendents.
The legislation in Texas, Nebraska, and North Dakota reflects how district leaders鈥� pay is constantly under scrutiny. Proposals to cap their salaries pop up occasionally at the state level. But, they rarely gain enough traction to become law.
Proponents of such caps argue that there is bloat in districts鈥� administrative offices and capping district leaders鈥� salaries would allow school systems to redirect money to classrooms or teachers.
Opponents, meanwhile, argue the move doesn鈥檛 actually save much money, and any savings are outweighed by the cost of driving out qualified superintendents and discouraging promising candidates from applying for the jobs altogether.
Lawmakers鈥� attempts to insert themselves in decisions about administrators鈥� pay represent 鈥渁 little bit of a state overreach鈥� and can really hamstring districts鈥� efforts to land top-tier leaders in a competitive hiring market, said Noelle Ellerson Ng, associate executive director of advocacy and governance for AASA, The School Superintendents Association.
鈥淔or example, if you have a district that鈥檚 really struggling and has a lot of superintendent turnover, and they鈥檙e really looking to bring in a candidate that can stay the course and offer some enduring stability, they might need to put their money where their mouth is and pay more to achieve that goal,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat should be at their discretion, and there should not be an arbitrary cap at the state level.鈥�
School board members, elected by the people who reside within school district boundaries, are the ones who decide how much to pay their superintendent, so they should have discretion to set salaries at a level they think is appropriate, Ellerson Ng said.
Superintendents鈥� salaries vary by location, district size, and how much experience they have. The average superintendent salary in the United States is $156,468,
That average is down slightly from 2021-22, when superintendents earned $158,670 on average.
One state鈥檚 trial run
Proposals to limit superintendents鈥� pay vary in approach. Some cap salaries at a defined dollar figure while others set the limit at a particular percentage of the district鈥檚 budget. Others tie the cap to what teachers earn.
In 2011, then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie set the maximum superintendent salary in the state at $175,000鈥攈is own salary. The Republican governor set a salary scale based on district enrollment. But the caps to the state鈥檚 12 largest districts or , special education schools, or .
Christie later raised the maximum salary to $191,584 in 2017.
The state found that many superintendents in nearby states while some districts got around the cap by awarding superintendents merit bonuses. By 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported, 10 of 43 districts in New York鈥檚 Westchester County were run by New Jersey superintendents who had left their jobs after the cap took effect.
While Christie said the salary cap would save the state $10 million, a Rutgers University-Camden professor鈥檚 study produced minimal savings and made superintendents 16 percent more likely to leave their positions.
Christie鈥檚 successor, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, signed legislation overturning the cap in his first term in 2019, .
Many school boards reportedly converted merit bonuses to base salary pay.
A New Jersey Department of Education spokesperson declined an interview request about the salary cap.
Ultimately, salary caps could prove more costly than beneficial, AASA鈥檚 Ellerson Ng said.
鈥淵ou might see some savings in the short term, but you鈥檙e increasing the likelihood of quicker turnover and therefore increasing the costs incurred as your district navigates replacing staff, a long-term cost that far outweighs any perceived fiscal benefit,鈥� she said.
Being superintendent 鈥榥ot tenable鈥� without competitive pay
A proposal in Texas would cap newly negotiated superintendents鈥� salaries at $153,750 (the annual pay for Gov. Greg Abbott), less than the national average. The proposal would also apply to any employee of a state or local government.
The bill鈥檚 sponsor, that 鈥渟tate and local taxpayer-funded salaries have skyrocketed out of control.鈥�
He continued: 鈥淣o 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.鈥�
If approved, the legislation would only apply to new contracts created after Sept. 1 of this year.
Kevin Brown, executive director of the Texas Association of School Administrators, said he doesn鈥檛 expect the bill will gain much traction, but would compound the challenges of recruiting district leaders.
鈥淚 think right now we have a shortage of pretty much every position in the school district, from bus drivers and custodians to teachers and librarians and counselors, and certainly we see that in the administration world as well,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e ought to be talking about how we increase compensation across the board for people that are serving our children.鈥�
It鈥檚 important to remember that school districts are often the largest employers in their communities, and district leaders have big jobs鈥攏ot just managing staff, but ensuring the schools they oversee are effectively educating children and preparing them for the future, Brown said.
鈥淭hey basically give their lives up to the community while they鈥檙e superintendents,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a calling for people. They do it because they believe in it鈥攖hey believe in the promise of public education. But they also need to be compensated for it. Otherwise, the job is not tenable for anybody.鈥�
Nebraska and North Dakota propose superintendent pay caps
The proposal pending in Nebraska would not allow superintendents to make more than five times the salary of a new teacher in their district.
The bill鈥檚 sponsor, Republican state Sen. Dave Murman, said the proposal came in response to community members鈥� complaints that superintendent pay is too high, according to .
Spencer Head, president of the Omaha school board, which recently began a search for a new superintendent, said the bill would limit the pool of potential candidates.
In North Dakota, a bill that proposed capping superintendents鈥� salaries at 1.5 percent of the state and local tax revenue a district receives also would have required that districts with 475 students or fewer share a superintendent with another district.
The bill would have eliminated , The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead reported.
The goal, lawmakers said, was to save money鈥攗p to $13 million鈥攊n administrative costs and redirect that money to teachers鈥� pay.
But the proposal was met with fierce backlash. Education it was government overreach, could drive out effective leaders, and would deter promising candidates from applying for vacancies.
Nobody spoke in support of the bill at a January hearing, and the North Dakota House later killed it .
