How School Chiefs’ Salaries Stack Up

Summer break is typically the time for school districts to hire new leadership. For example, the San Mateo-Foster City School District to replace , who retired at the end of the school year. Simms will be paid a three-year base salary of $200,000.

Similarly, in the neighboring South San Francisco School District, incoming Superintendent for a salary of $175,000 per year. That’s less than the $183,363 his predecessor, Howard S. Cohen made during the 2010-11 school year (half of which was paid leave under his resignation agreement with the district) – but it falls in the middle range for superintendent salaries in San Mateo County school districts, which vary both in size and in the particular challenges they face.

Below is a table showing how other school districts compare when it comes to paying their superintendents. This data was gathered by Patch.com and the Bay Area News Group through public information requests, and represents money paid during the 2010 calendar year.

School District

Superintendent

Base Salary

Total Employment Costs *

Menlo Park City School District

Kenneth J. Ranella

$241,584

$270,779

San Mateo Union High School District

Scott T. Laurence

$205,000

$237,430

Hillsborough City School District

Anthony H. Ranii

$192,000

$218,028

Cabrillo Unified School District

Robert B. Gaskill

$185,476

$205,662

South San Francisco Unified School District

Howard S. Cohen

$183,363

$213,197

Sequoia Union High School District

James W. Lianides

$180,131

$228,159

Jefferson Union High School District

Michael J. Crilly

$179,501

$229,013

Woodside Elementary School District

Diana G. Abbati

$176,750

$216,519

Las Lomitas School District

Eric C. Hartwig

$172,500

$201,808

Ravenswood City School District

Maria De La Vega

$170,000

$193,879

Belmont-Redwood Shores School District

Emerita L. Orta

$168,444

$210,618

San Carlos School District

Craig E. Baker

$163,465

$208,648

Burlingame School District

Dianne Talarico

$150,800

$216,514

Redwood City School District

Jan Christensen

$174,290

$200,714

* Includes overtime pay, contributions to medical, retirement, etc.

Vanessa Castaneda contributed to this story.