Most Louisiana school districts pay their superintendents the same as or a little less than the national average for similarly sized districts, according to an analysis by The Advocate.
Yet some Louisiana superintendents earn far more, or far less, than their counterparts in other states, The Advocate found.
For example, the head of Jefferson Parish Schools, Louisiana’s largest school district, earned a base salary of nearly $289,000 during the 2022-23 school year. That amount is more than $30,000 above the national median salary for leaders of comparably sized districts.
At the other end of the scale, the superintendent of the relatively small Grant Parish earned just over $102,000. That base salary is more than $57,000 below the national median for districts of that size.
How much do Louisiana superintendents make?
Public school superintendents in Louisiana had an average base pay of just under $169,000 in the 2022-2023 school year, which is slightly higher than their national counterparts.
But when student enrollment is taken into account, 49 out of 69 Louisiana superintendents — about 70% — made less than the national median for leaders of similarly sized districts, according to the Advocate analysis.
The first-of-its-kind analysis is based on superintendent salary and benefit information filed with the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office. The Advocate compared the pay to national salary data from the 2022-2023 school year compiled by AASA, an association that represents most superintendents nationwide and surveys members annually about their pay.
The median superintendent salary in Louisiana is $156,800, which is about even with the national median.
But the parishes that paid their superintendents the most paid them well above the national median for similar districts.
For superintendents of districts with 25,000 to 50,000 students, the national median salary is about $258,000, according to AASA.
- In Jefferson Parish, the base salary is $288,686 — about $30,600 more than the national median.
- Caddo Parish's base salary is $281,304 — about $23,300 more than the national median.
For superintendents of districts with 10,000-25,000 students, the national median superintendent salary is about $225,000.
- Ouachita Parish: $253,147 base salary — about $28,100 more than the national median.
For superintendents of districts with 3,000-5,000 students, the national median salary is about $180,300.
- Plaquemines Parish: $212,154 base salary — about $31,800 more than the national median for a district of its size.
The opposite trend existed for parishes with the lowest superintendent salaries. Those superintendents earned far less than the national median for districts of their size.
- Livingston Parish: $148,834 base salary — about $109,000 less than the national median for a district of its size.
- Lafourche Parish: $153,000 base salary — about $72,000 less than the national median for similarly sized districts.
- Beauregard Parish: $110,579 base salary — about $89,400 less than the national median for a district its size.
- Allen Parish: $113,723 base salary — about $66,500 less than the comparable national median.
What explains Louisiana's pay rates?
Several factors might help explain Louisiana superintendents’ pay rate, said Tara Thomas, government affairs manager and a researcher with AASA.
First, larger districts like Jefferson Parish tend to pay their leaders more.
“What we’ve seen is that as enrollment increases, compensation increases,” she said. “That means it’s a bigger system, it’s a harder job, it’s more personnel management, more money to deal with.”
This year, the Jefferson Parish school board increased Superintendent James Gray's base salary to $320,000. (The new contract removes the option of annual performance-based raises.) Board members defended the high pay, saying it reflects Gray's credentials, the district's size and similar salaries offered by nearby districts.
"I think he deserves everything he gets," said board member Gerard LeBlanc.
Louisiana also has seen an increase in superintendents leaving their jobs over the past five years, said Rachel White, an associate professor at the University of Texas who is the founder and principal investigator of The Superintendent Lab. From the 2019-2020 school year to the 2023-2024 school year, more than 60% of Louisiana school districts had a superintendent leave, according to the lab.
In order to recruit and retain effective superintendents, districts need to pay competitive salaries, said Michael Faulk, the executive director of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents.
“They want to hire somebody who can move the district forward,” he said. “And the pool is getting very slim of people who are certified to be superintendents.”
Faulk said superintendents’ jobs became much harder during the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also face a tougher accountability system after the Louisiana board of education approved changes this year that will result in fewer schools and districts earning top ratings.
Some states have considered putting limits on how much districts can pay their superintendents. Proponents say that doing so would redirect money to classrooms or teachers, but opponents argue it doesn’t actually save money and keeps districts from attracting qualified superintendents, Education Week reported.
Other benefits superintendents receive
Most superintendents are paid more than just a base salary. In addition to insurance benefits, some also receive car stipends, vacation-time payouts and bonuses for meeting performance goals.
On average, districts paid about $10,800 for a superintendent’s car or mileage, about $2,100 for electronics, about $800 for cellphones and about $20,000 in bonus or performance stipends.
The City of Monroe School District, Jefferson Parish and Iberville Parish paid their superintendents the most in non-insurance benefits. Monroe paid its superintendent nearly $128,000 in addition to the salary amount, including about $116,000 in unspecified “contract benefits.”
Jefferson Parish’s superintendent earned more than $82,000 in incentives, including over $65,000 in car benefits. Iberville Parish paid its superintendent $78,537 in other incentives including a $12,000 bonus, $15,913 in severance pay and $34,099 in unused paid time off.
How The Advocate created its database
The Advocate used information in the financial reports filed annually with the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office to create a database of superintendent salaries.
Most of the information came from financial reports that covered the 2022-2023 financial year. The most recently available data for Richland Parish was from the 2021-2022 financial year. The information for St. John the Baptist Parish came from its 2023-2024 approved budget. The base salary information for Ascension Parish was collected from its approved 2022-2023 budget.
Some parishes had two superintendents for the reported fiscal year. In those cases, The Advocate cataloged the total paid and the amounts paid separately.
The national salary amounts came from AASA’s 2022-2023 superintendent salary and benefits study. The association used responses from 2,706 superintendents from across the U.S.
Staff writer Marie Fazio contributed reporting.
Corrections & Clarifications: This story has been updated to reflect the budgeted base salary for the Ascension Parish superintendent for the 2022-2023 school year.