For a leader of a public school district in San Mateo County (or throughout California for that matter), the challenges, both daily and long-term, are many and often daunting.
So it’s not a surprise to learn that pay and perk packages for the county’s 23 district superintendents are typically generous. They have to be to attract administrative talent to these high-cost precincts. In other words, as a rule of thumb, you get what you pay for.
Transparent California, which tracks these matters and provides monetary information to taxpayers and others on its website, sheds some relevant light on the pay and benefits of these executives.
The most recent data made available by Transparent California is for 2023. These, then, were the top 10 total compensation packages listed for superintendents in this county:
• Sequoia Union High, $436,919.
• San Mateo-Foster City Elementary, $414,525.
• South San Francisco Unified, $394,898.
• San Mateo Union High, $389,892.
• Las Lomitas Elementary, $383,021.
• Redwood City Elementary, $381,434.
• Hillsborough City Elementary, $362,051.
• Burlingame Elementary, $349,803.
• Cabrillo Unified, $343,692.
• Jefferson Union High, $336,867.
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The superintendent of the San Mateo County Office of Education was listed as having a 2023 total pay/benefits package of $355,370.
For the most part, the public school data for 2023 do not break out and clearly identify certain special add-ons like moving expenses, a life insurance policy, use of a district auto or a housing allowance, among other specific items.
BART IS NOT INSIGNIFICANT: A clarification is required. An item in this space last week repeated a telling statistic indicating that BART ridership generated by San Mateo County customers represents less than 1% of the extensive rail system’s overall total.
That minuscule figure was termed “a blip” in BART’s overall operations. Which was accurate as far as it went. But some context and better perspective are needed. A reader, Adrian Brandt, made that clear in an informative email.
So, to address his valid concern, it’s relevant to note that, within the county itself, when all modes of public transit are considered, BART’s ridership holds up rather well.
In fact, according to data presented recently as county transit officials began to consider how to provide new tax dollars to preserve public transit service at a possible future election, only the Peninsula’s SamTrans bus operation was shown to handle more county riders than BART — and that includes an electrified Caltrain, even as its post-pandemic ridership grows.
HIGH-SPEED RAIL LOOMS: Still on the subject of BART on the northern portion of the Peninsula (Daly City to SFO and Millbrae), some of us continue to wonder about the potential impact of an envisioned high-speed rail link, a mega-project that is supposed to run from San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim at some point.
As planned, the HSR setup would use Caltrain tracks (and the Millbrae/SFO station) along the west Bay Area portion of the line. At least one stretch of passing tracks would also be in the works to permit faster trains to overtake slower ones.
All of this would create not one, not two but three competing north-south rail options here for commuters and others, including travelers using SFO. One big caveat: The dreamed-of presence here of the fiscally-challenged fast-train setup, whether an illusion or not, remains far into the future. If then.
BUCK’S KEEPS ROLLING ALONG: The restaurant business is notoriously fickle — and very tough. Survival for any significant length of time is always iffy in these parts. Competition is fierce.
Buck’s of Woodside (dubbed The Stagecoach back in the day) has managed to stay afloat since 1991, through good times and bad. It’s now in its 35th year of operation.
The establishment’s founder, Jamies MacNiven, turned out to be the right owner in the right place at the right time. Buck’s has become a go-to dining spot for locals, visitors and even some of Silicon Valley’s movers and shakers.
MacNiven says, at Buck’s, “things keep rolling along as they just keep shoveling food onto plates.” Sounds pretty simple. But it’s been working out for well over a generation.
CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE: The denizens of Half Moon Bay and Daly City who have been victimized by a sympathy strike by unionized drivers of a trash-hauling firm, Republic Services, may be ready for an alternative. Recology, which handles garbage and other waste for many San Mateo County communities, comes to mind as a handy option almost immediately. The strike has actually targeted Republic customers negotiating contracts outside the Bay Area. Half Moon Bay and Daly City have been caught in the unfortunate Teamsters Union crossfire through no fault of their municipalities.
(5) comments
Thanks for your column today, Mr. Horgan. If these folks can’t help kids achieve higher math and reading scores, they don’t deserve their generous compensation packages. Perhaps we need to structure their compensation packages based on increasing student achievement scores. If these folks don’t meet certain benchmarks, they’re out. Or perhaps we need to put these superintendent jobs up for bid. I’m sure there are plenty of folks willing to work for less than what you’ve reported.
As for BART being not insignificant – I’d agree. Their budget and lack of fiscal management leads to not insignificant waste of transportation funding. Since BART’s ridership is nowhere close to 100%, vote NO on any tax measures to shore up public transportation. Most, if not all, your money will go towards paying ever-increasing salaries, pensions, and benefits.
As for high-speed rail, I don’t believe any rail on the Peninsula or in the Bay Area can handle “high-speed.” Most of us alive today, I predict, will never see high-speed rail in the Bay Area. Unless, of course, you redefine “high-speed” to be the top speed of Caltrain (what is that, like 70mph)?
Most of these positions are completely superfluous with made-up tasks - mostly marketing and securing bond money. Just look at the corruption scandal at the Community College district.
The way this should be handled is on the county level like in the olden days or how other states are handling this:
- Buildings and building maintenance would be handled by each city. Cities already have public works and other employees dealing with building finance, maintenance, etc
- no magnet and no middle schools (both systems are fostering school segregation).
- get rid of 23 school districts with gerrymandered attendance zones.
- Each school would report to the county and the county board of education (also a very large organization with plenty of people doing exactly what?).
- within each city a roundtable of principals would keep city interests in place and communication open.
- Outlaw "School Rankings" based on standard tests. In fact, keep standard tests private or stop them completely. They are useless.
Wonder what non=government school officials get.
The salary ranges, not including perks, clearly show that education has become a gold mine for administrators. It is also a self promoting cabal that is rewarding the closed circle of PhDs in education, one of the simplest doctorates to obtain. Funny that they always wat to be addressed as Dr. while my friends and family who actually have science degrees never use that title. We need to completely overhaul our system and revert to making education the primary goal of our schools instead of lavishing benefits on those who have failed us based on California test scores. The ideas that easygerd delineates should be taken seriously starting with consolidation and the closure of the superintendent palatial offices. Think of the incremental funding that would become available to teach our children.
Dirk, funny you mention the self-promotional spirit of many of these superintendents.
People might not believe you, but I can point to Exhibit 1: Redwood City School District.
Some 30 years ago, RCSD's Director of Magnet Schools John Baker (and his superintendent and Board at the time) made a major mistake. They took federal grants to "de-segregate", but instead of creating magnet programs in low-income neighborhood schools, they created Magnet Schools in rich neighborhoods. That is a known tool to foster School Segregation, which often is rewarded with more money coming from State and Feds to fix "the Equity".
We have to assume this mistake and outcome was wanted since the former Director of Magnet School is still around and even the Superintendent now.
He is the Superintendent of one of the richest school districts in the County with the most real estate and largest percentage of Administrators, but of course the worst outcome based on Standard Tests - it's all obvious when you look at School Accountability Report Cards (SARC).
Anyways, with all the obvious - almost criminal - mistakes committed by the RCSD board and its administrators, this is what Dr. John Baker used as his Zoom background during the pandemic:
https://youtu.be/wb0HEPHZHM0?list=PLgckn7V1-y5v_ZsBgN9BTV8C_gvXwNcAr&t=3781
It's basically a picture of a collection of all his awards and nominations he has ever received for his "School Choice" scheme. I don't think anyone forced him to make that picture and use it in Zoom.
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