Female superintendent salaries near parity with male counterparts

Male superintendents may outnumber their female counterparts 3-1, but the gender pay gap is nearly nonexistent.

Female superintendents make about 96% of what male superintendents make, according to a study released recently by the AASA, the School Superintendents Association.

That’s significantly higher than the average for all women in all jobs. Entering this year, women were earning about 82 cents for every $1 men made, according to Payscale, a compensation software and data company.

The overall mean salary for superintendents is $158,670, the AASA’s 10th annual Superintendent Salary & Benefits Study found. The report was compiled from responses of nearly 1,800 AASA members nationwide. Of that number, 83, or about 5%, were superintendents working in Pennsylvania.

In the 17 school districts in Westmoreland County, superintendent salaries during the 2019-20 school year ranged from $106,000 in Monessen, which has 790 students, to $178,000 in the Greater Latrobe School District, where there are about 3,775 students.

The average superintendent’s salary in the county was about $148,000.

In the Alle-Kiski Valley, where there are 12 school districts, superintendent salaries ranged from $127,000 in Riverview, which has about 950 students, to $200,000 in Fox Chapel Area, where there are about 2,400 students.

When Leechburg Area School District hired Tiffany Nix as superintendent in 2016, Nix said she was offered a starting salary below that of her male predecessor.

“I asked for what he made,” Nix said. “No more, no less, and they did grant me that. The board received a lot of negative feedback over that decision.”

Other highlights of the report:

• Superintendents are getting younger. In 2022, 42.5% were between 30 and 50 years old compared to 35.1% in 2012. Nearly 40% were between 41 and 50 years old and about 45% are 51 to 60.

• A superintendent’s median salary ranged from $105,000 to $228,541, depending on district size. The report divided the respondents among nine enrollment ranges, with smaller districts generally averaging lower salaries than larger districts.

• Nearly half of respondents had five years or fewer experience as a superintendent.

• Nearly 43% of respondents hold a doctorate in education, followed by 38% with a master’s degree. Where numbers are sufficient, a higher percentage of female superintendents hold a doctorate — 48% — compared to 41% of men.

• Although whites made up about 87% of the superintendents responding to the survey, they ranked fourth in median base salary behind Asians, Blacks and Hispanics.