This document has been formatted for printing from your browser from the Web site of the Illinois Association of School Boards.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE -- This document is © copyrighted by the Illinois Association of School Boards. IASB hereby grants to school districts and other Internet users the right to download, print and reproduce this document provided that (a) the Illinois Association of School Boards is noted as publisher and copyright holder of the document and (b) any reproductions of this document are disseminated without charge and not used for any commercial purpose.
Illinois School Board Journal
January/February 2002
Reality of numbers impacts salaries
by Robert F. Hall and Max E. Pierson
Max Pierson and Robert Hall are professors of Educational Administration at Western Illinois University.
Statistics from this fall's survey of administrative salaries show the impact of salary trends can be profound. When some districts begin a superintendent search, they find they simply cannot attract a suitable candidate with the salary they are proposing.
Other factors also enter the mix of issues that boards of education need to remember when setting administrative salaries. A recent poll indicated that only 50 percent of those students in the superintendent program at Western Illinois University actually wanted to become superintendents. The rest wanted to become central office personnel (curriculum directors, personnel directors or chief school business officials).
In addition, the retirement of "Baby Boomers" means the loss of a significant number of superintendents. Conversations with consultants who conduct superintendent searches in other Midwest states indicate this trend is not unique to Illinois. For example, Iowa educators predict 50 percent of sitting superintendents will retire by the year 2002 and another third will retire by 2007. Simply put, a national shortage of superintendents will soon exist.
Some suggest that alternative certification will provide the necessary supply, at a reduced cost. This overlooks the fact that once the candidate has completed the alternative certification program, then he or she has a superintendent certificate. Therefore, after one year of training, the newly certificated superintendent will be able to work anywhere in the state of Illinois.
A better approach may be for boards of education to choose present employees who have the desire, qualities and drive to become superintendents and then support, encourage and groom those people for the position. It may become necessary to give the employees released time to complete comprehensive internships and/or financial support to complete the necessary advanced training.
Most school superintendents accept the fact that the only way to achieve a significant raise in salary is to move to a different district. While this may appear to be an attractive alternative to some boards of education, the costs to the district can be enormous. Specifically, changes in top-level leadership can totally immerse the board in recruitment, often to the exclusion of other significant educational issues. Furthermore, the board must pay the costs of a search, diverting monies from other worthwhile educational pursuits. Finally, there is the lost time during which the new superintendent establishes momentum for attaining district goals.
Boards of education will either have to reduce the disparity between the different regions of the state, by increasing salaries downstate to match those in the suburban areas, or accept the migration of experienced, qualified school administrators to the Northeast region. At the same time, the demand for administrators, as evidenced by the number of attendance centers and districts, is not decreasing significantly enough to alleviate or match the supply side issue. The result is an ever decreasing supply and a stable demand, resulting in significantly higher salaries for experienced administrators. New and inexperienced administrators are being hired for the same or higher salary as the retiring, experienced administrators.
What, then, is the bottom line for school boards? First, if you have high quality administrators in district, then pay a competitive salary (above the average for your district type) to retain them. Secondly, if you find potentially high-quality administrative talent in your teaching staff, encourage those folks and assist them in moving to administrative positions within the district.
These recommendations are not particularly new, but are just as important in years before. Boards of education must take the initiative to provide the funds to hire and retain high quality educational leaders. One board member observed that the money they saved by hiring a lower cost superintendent they used up in legal fees during the firing process. Or as another wag put it, if you fear the price of high quality leadership, then what is the cost for poor quality leadership?