Superintendent salary locked at current level
By ADAM STEWART Staff Reporter
It is public record.
The Stanwood-Camano School District superintendent’s current annual salary is $202,115, as stated in the 2009-10 contract.
Roger Myers, president of the board of directors, determines the salary based on a database of “benchmark districts.”
The seven comparison districts are Arlington, Lake Stevens, Marysville, Monroe, Mount Vernon, Oak Harbor and Snohomish. The NEWS
compared administrative salaries from the same districts last May.
“These seven school districts are used to determine salaries for all the employees in our district, not just the superintendent,” said Myers.
Myers receives position-specific salary information from the cohort group and creates a spreadsheet to develop averages.
He brings those numbers to the board for approval prior to meeting with Superintendent Jean Shumate, Ed.D.
Unlike other districts in the comparison group, Shumate’s compensation is not broken down into base salary, perks and benefits.
As a result, her salary stands as the average of the total compensation numbers provided by the comparison districts, some of which receive benefits ranging up to $40,000.
Of the seven districts, only two superintendents received under $160,000 total compensation. Two other districts paid their superintendents more than $220,000.
The high end of the spectrum (including benefits) was $259,885 for Lake Stevens, with Mount Vernon hitting the low side at $147,714, according to information provided by the Stanwood-Camano School District.
The average base salary for the group was $177,913 in 2008-09.
In addition to her salary, Shumate receives the standard benefits eligible to certificated teachers, an approximate value of $8,900.
Next school year, her total compensation will hold steady.
Shumate notified Myers in the fall to freeze her salary at the current level.
The superintendent’s salary may appear high in comparison to other base salaries, said Myers, however, if the district decided to break down separate benefits at the superintendent level, the base salary would seem lower.
“We believe our system is a fair way to evaluate salaries and compensation,” he said.
Staff Reporter Adam
Stewart: 629-8066 ext. 115
or astewart@scnews.com.
