2022 pay increases for some school administrators dwarf teacher pay in Kansas

(The Sentinel) – The average teacher pay increased by 4.3% (contracted base salary) in the 2022 school year, but some administrators received much larger increases.

Wichita Superintendent Alicia Thompson got a 10% pay increase to more than $333,000 and Deputy Superintendent Gil Alvarez’s pay jumped 17%.  Assistant Superintendent Amanda Kingrey got a 26% increase to $159,000.  Other top administrators in Wichita received 8% pay increases.  Average teacher pay increased by 3.4%.

The 2022 pay increases are posted to KansasOpenGov.org from Open Records requests.  KansasOpenGov is managed by Kansas Policy Institute, which also owns the Sentinel.

Shawnee Mission Assistant Superintendent Michael Schumacher’s pay increased 14% to almost $203,000 and Chief Academic Officer Darren Dennis got a 25% raise to more than $180,000.

Some big increases, like Olathe Superintendent Brent Yeager’s 54% jump to $288,0000 result from a promotion.  A few large increases are driven by unique circumstances. Gardner-Edgerton Superintendent Pam Stranathan had her contract bought out by the previous school board because she didn’t want to work with newly-elected board members; she was paid more than $518,000 last year.  Garden City Superintendent Steve Karlin retired and collected pay for unused sick leave, putting his total pay at $377,000.

The Kansas City school district had several large increases.  The superintendent’s Chief of Staff, a position that doesn’t exist in any other district, got a 21% increase to $222,000. Instructional Improvement Officers Kimberly Shaw and Troy Pitsch received increases of 37% and 14%, respectively.

These large administrative pay increases come just after statewide polling shows Kansans give the public school system a ‘C.’