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LeesburgToday A Comparison Of Public School Superintendents’ Compensation
ERIC WILLIAMS Loudoun (Started July 1)
Base Salary
$
240,000
EDGAR HATRICK Loudoun (Retired June 30) $
Fairfax
249,755
STEVEN WALTS Prince William
265,000
$
$
287,153
AARON SPENCE Virginia Beach
226,700
PATRICK MURPHY Arlington
223,242
$
$
Supplemental Retirement
$
25,000
$
25,000
Transportation Allowance
$
12,000
$
12,809
Vehicle provided
Moving Expenses
$
14,400
N/A
$ 25,000 plus $15,000 for temporary housing
N/A
N/A
N/A
24,000 annual housing allowance
$28,245 for expenses such as health care, dependent care, home security and college savings
Data allowance of $1,740; may earn bonuses based on performance not to exceed 5% of base salary
$500 one-time bonus; $6,000/year for professional development
64,996
$
$
Other:
TOTAL 2013-14 Enrollment
277,000*
$
287,564
$
70,759
70,759
$
75,000 $
353,996*
$
183,417
$
0
390,398
$
85,451
0
$
9,000
$
$
237,440 70,556
26,800
$
$
9,600
265,642 23,499
*DOES NOT INCLUDE MOVING EXPENSES.
Leesburg Today/Elisa Hernandez
Williams’ Compensation Stacks Up With Peers’
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as that of Loudoun’s recently retired superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick’s, is more straightforward. In addition to Williams’ base salary, he will receive a $12,000 annual vehicle allowance, $25,000 in deferred salary—money deposited into supplemental retirement accounts—and up to $14,000 in moving expenses in the first year. Each of the school systems used in the comparison by Leesburg Today also contribute to the cost of any chosen Virginia Retirement System plan at the same rate they do for other administrators. Each also offers similar health care coverage and life insurance plans as it offers other employees. In Williams’ case, Loudoun will pay $5,000 a year for life insurance, $16,001 for health insurance for him and his family and $34,800 into VRS, the same percentage of salary the school system pays for other administrators. View Williams’ full contract at www.leesburgtoday.com/education. n Reporter Jill Palermo contributed to this report.
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chool superintendents are usually the highest paid public employees in most communities, and it’s no different in Loudoun County. Eric Williams, who stepped in as the county’s new superintendent last week, will be paid a compensation package of about $277,000 to lead Virginia’s third largest school system. His base salary is a hefty 42 percent raise over what he made as superintendent of York County Public Schools, but that district has about 12,500 students compared with Loudoun’s more than 70,000. Williams’ compensation package falls in line with what Virginia’s largest school systems are paying their top leaders. His salary is more than $47,000 less than Steven Walts’, superintendent of Prince William County schools, the next largest school system in the commonwealth, and $13,300 more than Superintendent Aaron Spence’s pay to lead Virginia Beach public schools,
which has a few hundred fewer students than Loudoun. (See graphic.) Loudoun County School Board Chairman Eric Hornberger (Ashburn) said when negotiating Williams’ contract the board conducted a similar side-by-side comparison, and looked at current compensation rates at school systems in the region about the same size. “The board empowered me to negotiate within agreed upon parameters,” he said. “I believe that the board and superintendent reached a reasonable agreement.” A look at the contracts of several Virginia superintendents shows some large additions to the school leaders’ base salaries. For example, Prince William County Superintendent Walts’ compensation package comes with an annual “supplemental benefit” of $28,245 for expenses such as health care, dependent care, home security and college savings and Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Karen Garza receives an annual stipend of $24,000 to cover housing expenses, according to their contracts. Williams’ compensation package, as well
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plan to increase revenue while minimizing the impact on customers’ bills, PRMG President Robert Ori said. A key change is the increase in the revenue generated by the fixed rate charged to every account from 6.5 percent of total system rate revenues to 20 percent over five years. Currently, most homeowners pay a $14.40 quarterly base charge. Under the proposal, that would increase to $18.19 this year and move up to $57.40 by 2019. Usage rates also would be incremen-
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“You have a recommendation that meets your bond covenants, that puts you on solid footing over five years, and has moderate increases over a period of time.”
LETTERS PAGE 60
O pinio n
he Leesburg Town Council this week scheduled a July 22 public hearing on a package of new water and sewer service rates designed to solidify funding for the town’s utility system. While the new rates would likely result in higher bills for many of the town’s 15,000 utility customers, quarterly bills are expected to remain lower than most other municipal systems around the commonwealth. The proposed changes result from a consultant study performed by Public Resources Management Group, Inc., which found that the current rates would not generate enough revenue to cover the town’s utility operations. The firm recommended a five-year
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JULY 10, 2014
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VOLUME 26
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