Highest Paid NY Schools Superintendent Makes $506,000 a Year

The Syosset schools superintendent draws the top school salary in New York state, earning a reported $506,381 a year, according to a report by Gannett's Albany bureau.

The next 10 highest-paid superintendents, all in Long Island, earn about $360,000 to $434,000 a year, reports Gannett. Meanwhile, the lowest-paid school superintendent, in Binghamton, earns $166,360 a year.

The huge difference in salary reflects the wide disparities in teacher and administrators' pay across the state, with Westchester and Putnam counties ranking first and second for highest average full-time salary, while Otsego and Yates counties rank last, according to Gannett.

The average salary statewide was $57,971 in the 2010-2011 school year for all employees in the Teachers' Retirement System as of June 30, according to a review of records obtained by Gannett. (The average salary was $72,422 for employees who earned more than $15,000 during the school year.)

In the wealthy Scarsdale school district in Westchester County, the average salary for full-time teachers and administrators was $126,261. Countywide, the average salary was $96,088.

Scarsdale superintendent Michael McGill told Gannett, "Part of it is regional cost of living and part of it is a very conscious decision on the part of boards of education going back at least three or four decades to try to pay salaries that would attract the strongest candidates to the district."

Otsego County's average school salary was $50,039, and Yates County's average salary was $49,872, the lowest in the state.

School salaries, especially administrators' pay, have been under increased scrutiny as the state continues to deal with a budget crunch that has led to a decline in school aid, Gannett reports. Gov. Andrew Cuomo had unsuccessfully sought a cap on administrators' salaries.

Union officials said teacher salaries are based on a number of factors, including education level, seniority of the workforce, and cost of living. One superintendent pointed out to Gannett that school salaries "don't tell of a full picture of the responsibilities a teacher of administrator may take on."