Austin ISD Superintendent Gets Pay Raise, Contract Extension

AUSTIN, TX — The Austin ISD board on Monday night approved giving their superintendent a 1.5 percent pay raise — for a base salary of $310,958 — and a contract extension through 2020.

In making the move, school board president Kendall Pace lauded the performance of Superintendent Paul Cruz by detailing key accomplishments: Meeting more than 60 percent of targets set out by the trustees last year; reducing the number of failing campuses from eight to four; and achieving a district-wide graduation rate of 90.7 percent, the highest to date for the district.

“Our superintendent is an engaging people-oriented, fun-loving person who knows the value of investing time and effort in building positive internal and external relationships,” Pace said. “He works tirelessly to build positive relationships with community, business and educational leaders, and the favorable perception of the district continues to increase year after year.”

All but one of the trustees approved the pay raise and contract extension. Trustee Ann Teich abstained without commenting. The positive performance for Cruz comes ahead of the district's $1.1 billion bond project — the largest in its history — on Nov. 4, for which early voting began on Monday.

Cruz is the district's first Hispanic superintendent in a school district where about 60 percent of the students are Latino.

With his $310,958 base salary secured, Cruz now earns more than five times the average salary in Austin. According to payscale.com, the average salary in Austin is $58,558. Cruz also earns more than virtually all others jobs in Austin; payscale.com places the average salary for a software engineer at $81,085; software developer at $68,836; operations manager, $60,438; senior software engineer, $110,488; project manager $72,422; senior software engineer/developer/programmer $107,318.

Cruz also now earns more than all but two of the city's highest-paid staffers. At the City of Austin, only Jacqueline Ann Sargent (whose salary is $360,006) and aviation department head James W. Smith ($314,642) earn more than Cruz, as seen in a list of municipal salaries compiled by Texas Tribune.

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>>> Photo of Superintendent Paul Cruz via Austin ISD