According to a new online database from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Oxford Superintendent Dr. William Skilling’s $199,170 compensation package ranks 97 out of 606 school districts in the state and 21 out of 28 districts in the county.
The database provides detailed compensation data for every conventional and intermediate school district in the state, including links to individual superintendent’s contracts.
‘While compensation for superintendents only amounts to about 1 percent of public school spending, the public should have easy access to this particular information,? said Michael Van Beek, director of education policy, in a press release. ‘As CEOs of districts and often the highest paid government employee in a local community, superintendent pay deserves an extra level of public scrutiny.?
The top five districts with the highest pay in the state included Utica: $300,789; Rockford $290,445; Genesee I.S.D $282,500; Kalamazoo: $280,469; and Farmington at $277,867, which is also the highest paid in Oakland County.
Clarkston ranked 18th in the county and 82nd in the state with a total compensation package of $206,941; Lake Orion 19th in the county and 83rd in the state with $206,859 and Brandon placed 25th in the county and 214th in the state with $170,043.
The online database allows users to sort and search the data in a variety of ways including by rank and the pay of superintendents.Non-compensatory information is also available, such as the number of sick and vacation days each superintendent is allotted.
Skilling’s $199,170 compensation package breaks down to $141,500 salary, $27,343 pension, $8,400 for travel and $21,927 for insurance. He is also allotted 12 sick days and 32 vacation days.
Many school districts make some of this information available on their websites. Oxford posts all administration employees? contracts on their site. State law does not require the information to be posted.
Skilling indicated he had no problem with the Mackinac Center publishing superintendents? salaries and benefits.
‘When you’re a pubic employee, everything has to be transparent,? he said. ‘It should be public information.?
As far as where he ranks in pay and benefits, Skilling said he doesn’t look at it.
‘It’s just left to the school board to determine my pay and benefits. I don’t really think comparing myself to others is what I should be doing,? he said. ‘If I am happy being in Oxford, which I am, and the board is happy and the compensation is agreeable to both, that’s what matters. It doesn’t matter where that falls.?