If you’re a superintendent and you don’t get along with your school board, you are likely in the minority—a pretty small minority, in fact.
Despite a more tempestuous political climate around mask mandates and teaching about racism, 60% of superintendents gave an “A” to their relationship with the members of their board, according to a District Administration survey of nearly 900 K-12 leaders. Another 30% graded the relationship a “B.”
Most superintendents also endorsed their board’s performance, with just about 38% of leaders each saying their board was either effective or highly effective. Most district leaders also believed their boards would rate their own performance at an “A” or “B.”
A large majority of superintendents also gave members an A or B for understanding the school board’s role while just under 10% of respondents described the quality of their board as below average.
Just under half of the respondents also said board meetings had become more contentious during the pandemic, particularly over masks. “A lot more people in public comment periods. Many of whom have no direct connection to the school. They tend to be louder and more opinionated,” one respondent said. Another reported attendees refusing to wear masks.
“Tempers are short and grace is limited,” another respondent said. When superintendents did come into conflict with their boards, mask mandates were the biggest issue by far. A handful reported disagreements over critical race theory, the return to in-person learning and policies affecting transgender students.
Lack of diversity
A majority of the superintendents in District Administration’s survey were between age 41 and 60 and had been in their current position between one and seven years.
K-12 does not appear to be making substantial progress on diversifying the superintendent’s post. Nearly 90% of the leaders identified as white, and nearly 75% were male.
Relationships have been somewhat testier with parents. Almost half of the respondents said parents had been the hardest group to work with over the past year while another third said community members had been the most challenging. Only a small number described teachers, unions, principals and community organizations the same way.
COVID’s pressures persist
Almost all of those surveyed reported that their districts opened the 2021-22 school year with in-person learning, many reported that their reopening plans required a lot of flexibility in the areas of staffing, masking and social distancing. Gauging the other impacts of COVID, about a third of the respondents said enrollment has declined slightly during the pandemic. Less than 10% reported a significant increase or decrease, while about a quarter reported no change or a small increase.
With the influx of ESSER funds, a large majority of superintendents (80%) said they would use the money to reverse learning loss and provide mental health support for students. Nearly half were also planning to make HVAC upgrades. More than half also reported their budgets had increased slightly or substantially. In a return to normalcy, most districts are allowing out-of-district and out-of-state travel in 2022.
More from DA: K-12 mask mandates not only worked. They really worked.
Almost three-quarters of the respondents said the pandemic had led them to allow students to work from home when they are sick or on snow days. About 15% had developed more flexible schedules for students.
What leaders are earning in 2022
Most superintendents got healthy but not huge raises last year and many of them expect a similar substantial increase this year. More than eight in 10 reported receiving a raise of 5% or less and nine in 10 expect the same next year, according to the survey. Less than 3% expected said they received a raise of 10% or more, and a vast majority did not report receiving any bonuses. That resulted in salaries ranging widely from around $95,000 to over $300,000, broken down as follows:
- $95,000 or less: 4.9%
- $95,000-$149,000: 47.6%
- $150,000-$199,000: 30.2%
- $200,000-$299,000: 16.25%
- $300,000-$350,000 0.8%
Earlier this month, a separate survey found male superintendents continue to earn higher salaries than their female counterparts at the same time district leaders are getting younger. In a persistent trend, female superintendents earn approximately 96% of what male superintendents earn, according to the 2021-22 version of the annual “Superintendent Salary & Benefits Study” by AASA, The School Superintendents Association.
Superintendents’ median salaries ranged from $105,000 to $228,541, depending on district enrollment. The median salaries identified in the 2020-21 report ranged from $140,172 to $180,500.
