Long Island School Administrator Salaries (Syosset: credit card, attorney, taxes)
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Maybe it's just our Supt, but I know he comes in by 8:30 (earlier than he's required to) and generally leaves around 5pm. He attends many of the night meetings in the district, which means he gets to eat dinner and come back to school for another 2-3 hours. He works on vacation days while the kids are off and must tell the board ahead of time if he is planning on a few days off.
Boards who are smart will put those types of provisions in a Supt contract, if they are smart. It at least controls some of their work time.
It's a close relationship between the Superintendents and school board and makes it difficult for the board members to be objective. They depend on the superintendent for many things yet they need to review and approve their contract. I think most of the time they don't want to rock the boat and don't look at things objectively.
The superinntnedents do put in some time over the school year but they still have summers off for the most part and have large support staff.
Summers off? No, not really. Their hours during the day may be shorter, but they do still work in the summer. Here again, it is a function of the requirements put in the contract by the board.
Most administrators in our district work about 20-40 days or more than the usual 180, depending on their position and the need for them to work more time, especially during the summer. It's all contractual.
I agree that many board members are just too "green" or "scared" to do the job the way it should be done, and many times that's simply a function of lack of training on what's right to do and allowed etc. Being the Supt's boss is like being a parent... you can't be their "friend" but you can be a likeable person and still command performance.
Summers off? No, not really. Their hours during the day may be shorter, but they do still work in the summer. Here again, it is a function of the requirements put in the contract by the board.
Most administrators in our district work about 20-40 days or more than the usual 180, depending on their position and the need for them to work more time, especially during the summer. It's all contractual.
I agree that many board members are just too "green" or "scared" to do the job the way it should be done, and many times that's simply a function of lack of training on what's right to do and allowed etc. Being the Supt's boss is like being a parent... you can't be their "friend" but you can be a likeable person and still command performance.
Here is the problem at the superintendent level: The superintendents are amateurs in the world of finance and leadership yet are expected to make wise financial decisions and sound executive decisions and the school boards are amateurs in the field of education (and perhaps leadership and finance too). Of course this is a recipe and roadmap for absolute disaster even with the best of intentions and from what I have seen some of the amateurish superintendents are more concerned with their own version of 'executive compensation' and not the business at hand - and the boards are unwilling or unable to redirect them.
The board members here on Long Island are very good at defining what is NOT their business (day to day operation of the district, etc) and very bad at providing firm guidance to the superintendents. They are also very good at depending on superintendents as their only source of information and defering to the self-serving school district lawyer gang. With all that - it is no wonder the terms heck and handbasket come to mind in desribing the districts.
As further bad news it is an open secret that failed teachers who can't hack it in the classroom go into administration as a way to stay in the pension system. By hopskotching from district to district ( aka 'passing the trash') accompanied by glowing recommendations ('...wonderboy/gal is terrific and we would hate to lose him or her to another district but we certainly won't stand in the way of a terrific opportunity for wonder boy/gal in another district...') some of these sorry souls have meandered their way to the superintendent level. One could not have crafted a more perfect recipe for the disaster we now behold.
Here is the problem at the superintendent level: The superintendents are amateurs in the world of finance and leadership yet are expected to make wise financial decisions and sound executive decisions and the school boards are amateurs in the field of education (and perhaps leadership and finance too). Of course this is a recipe and roadmap for absolute disaster even with the best of intentions and from what I have seen some of the amateurish superintendents are more concerned with their own version of 'executive compensation' and not the business at hand - and the boards are unwilling or unable to redirect them.
The board members here on Long Island are very good at defining what is NOT their business (day to day operation of the district, etc) and very bad at providing firm guidance to the superintendents. They are also very good at depending on superintendents as their only source of information and defering to the self-serving school district lawyer gang. With all that - it is no wonder the terms heck and handbasket come to mind in desribing the districts.
As further bad news it is an open secret that failed teachers who can't hack it in the classroom go into administration as a way to stay in the pension system. By hopskotching from district to district ( aka 'passing the trash') accompanied by glowing recommendations ('...wonderboy/gal is terrific and we would hate to lose him or her to another district but we certainly won't stand in the way of a terrific opportunity for wonder boy/gal in another district...') some of these sorry souls have meandered their way to the superintendent level. One could not have crafted a more perfect recipe for the disaster we now behold.
All this is great and all. The only thing I want to know is can you objectively measure the results of a good superintendent and a bad superintendent or are they just the benefactors of environmental variables that are out of their control? I believe the latter is true. Thus, overpaying for a "good" superintendent is a waste of resources.
Here is the problem at the superintendent level: The superintendents are amateurs in the world of finance and leadership yet are expected to make wise financial decisions and sound executive decisions and the school boards are amateurs in the field of education (and perhaps leadership and finance too). Of course this is a recipe and roadmap for absolute disaster even with the best of intentions and from what I have seen some of the amateurish superintendents are more concerned with their own version of 'executive compensation' and not the business at hand - and the boards are unwilling or unable to redirect them.
The board members here on Long Island are very good at defining what is NOT their business (day to day operation of the district, etc) and very bad at providing firm guidance to the superintendents. They are also very good at depending on superintendents as their only source of information and defering to the self-serving school district lawyer gang. With all that - it is no wonder the terms heck and handbasket come to mind in desribing the districts. As further bad news it is an open secret that failed teachers who can't hack it in the classroom go into administration as a way to stay in the pension system. By hopskotching from district to district ( aka 'passing the trash') accompanied by glowing recommendations ('...wonderboy/gal is terrific and we would hate to lose him or her to another district but we certainly won't stand in the way of a terrific opportunity for wonder boy/gal in another district...') some of these sorry souls have meandered their way to the superintendent level. One could not have crafted a more perfect recipe for the disaster we now behold.
How and why does that go on?
In private industry, if someone stinks at their jobs, bosses are certainly not worrying about whether "so and so the passed trash" stays in the retirement plan.
The favoritism and nepotism in LI school districts is OUT OF CONTROL.
They have proven they cannot help themselves but make off with the taxpayers' money under false pretenses.
They need strict oversight from an IMPARTIAL agency.
Summers off? No, not really. Their hours during the day may be shorter, but they do still work in the summer. Here again, it is a function of the requirements put in the contract by the board.
Most administrators in our district work about 20-40 days or more than the usual 180, depending on their position and the need for them to work more time, especially during the summer. It's all contractual.
I agree that many board members are just too "green" or "scared" to do the job the way it should be done, and many times that's simply a function of lack of training on what's right to do and allowed etc. Being the Supt's boss is like being a parent... you can't be their "friend" but you can be a likeable person and still command performance.
I am sure there is some summer work but overall unless there is something out of the ordinary it just cannot be extensive, same for the other holidays. I am sure they work more than the teachers but who would be watching
I don't think a school board member with a child in the school is going to be able to challenge the $400K superintendent and associated staff on any meaningful issue with or without the education.
In private industry, if someone stinks at their jobs, bosses are certainly not worrying about whether "so and so the passed trash" stays in the retirement plan.
The favoritism and nepotism in LI school districts is OUT OF CONTROL.
They have proven they cannot help themselves but make off with the taxpayers' money under false pretenses.
They need strict oversight from an IMPARTIAL agency.
AAHHHH, that is the rub. Briefly, a new admin who gets hired is likely to get tenure because the person who did the hiring won't admit a mistake (and of course that person is likely to be fairly incompetent too and the hiree is a crony or relative of a cronybut that is another matter). As wonderboy/gal stinks up the place the best outcome for the district is if he/she gets hired by another district - ordinarily not a lateral move either. . .hence the glowing recommendation, subsequent hiring, subsequent stinking up the place, subsequent hopskotch...fast forward twenty years or so and you have got a superintendent. And that newly hired and most likely inept superintendent is unlikely to ever be ditched because what board will publicly admit that their own search and hire were expensive failures. The best they can hope for is some other district makes wonder boy/gal an offer...give a glowing recommendation...and so it goes.
Because of the decentralized nature of schooling here in Nassau and Suffolk there is no way to rationally evaluate an administrator as average, above average, or below average even if we had superintendents capable of nuanced judgments on job performance, potential, etc.
Of course I am overstating. Not all admins were failures in the classroom - although most were. Not all boards refuse to admit hiring mistakes - OK that one is always true.
Last edited by Quick Commenter; 02-13-2011 at 08:18 PM..
Reason: spelling
We had a sketchy supt once who came from upstate. The PTA Council Pres took it upon herself to call the local PTA from the district he came from, before he was hired here. Found out all sorts of dirt which should have precluded him from being hired, however, the board at that time went ahead and took him.
Then he managed to get his wife hired for a part-time position, at her demand or else she wouldn't have come to LI with him!!!!
Poor decisions all around.
She tried suing the district when they didn't rehire her the next year for a full-time position. Cost the district a pretty penny, but she got nothing thank goodness.
Then he ended up being "let go", well he retired rather than have it look like he got canned.
So where do fired/retired Supts/admins go? To charter schools of course!
He lasted there a little while until wifey demanded they move to Florida. Wonder what he's doing now?
Minor point but why does the school district need to pay all those fringe benefits in addition to salary. Why can't she fund her own 401K siince she is goin gto get a NYS pension.
Anyway seems like the people at the school board meeting were supportive although that's just part of the story.
Minor point but why does the school district need to pay all those fringe benefits in addition to salary. Why can't she fund her own 401K siince she is goin gto get a NYS pension.
Anyway seems like the people at the school board meeting were supportive although that's just part of the story.
Because, if Syosset doesn't pay that ridiculous salary/benefits then the superintendent is going to move towards a different industry that pays people 1/2 million dollars to do a mediocre job. It makes perfect sense according to the association of superintendents.
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