Arizona’s school superintendents sit atop some of the richest contracts in public service, with one superintendent earning nearly $500,000 per year, though ordinary taxpayers rarely see the full picture. According to a new report by the Goldwater Institute, the superintendent base salaries are merely the tip of the iceberg, and the publicly reported superintendent pay captures only a fraction of the total cost.
The Goldwater Institute’s report, The Hidden Ways Arizona School Superintendents Are Paid, authored by Christopher Thomas, Goldwater’s Director of Legal Strategy for Education Policy, uncovers the hidden benefits and perks that dramatically inflate superintendent compensation. Behind the figure lies a collection of extras: car allowances, stipends, pension boosts, and cash for unused vacation time. The result is one of the most lucrative forms of public employment in the state—and in many cases, even school board members are kept in the dark about the true price tag.
“For taxpayers, the secrecy should set off alarms,” Thomas said. “Superintendents are not just any employee—they are the CEOs of their districts, the highest-paid public servants in many counties. They are also the only officials directly accountable to the elected school board. The superintendent’s job is important, and high salaries may be justified. But the current system of secrecy and delay erodes public trust.”
Over the course of four months, Goldwater obtained and analyzed contracts from 41 of Arizona’s largest districts. Few gave them up willingly. Districts delayed, demanded steep fees, or simply refused until legal threats forced disclosure. The resistance to transparency was a rule, not an exception: 40 of the 41 districts had failed to post contracts online or even attach them to board packets, despite clear requirements under Arizona law. Ten districts earned a failing grade for transparency.
The Goldwater Institute found that:
- While superintendent base salaries average approximately $215,000 a year, taxpayers are charged up to $490,000 per superintendent after accounting for other lucrative perks.
- Taxpayers pay up to $1,250 per month for some superintendents to receive monthly “car allowances,” a price large enough to lease a Corvette or purchase a brand-new vehicle roughly every 2-3 years.
- Dozens of districts are double charging taxpayers for superintendents’ retirement packages, funding private retirement accounts on top of their already generous state pension benefits. The Phoenix Union High School District, for example, spends over $45,000 per year on employer contributions to a personal retirement account for the superintendent, in addition to what taxpayers already spend for her public pension.
- Taxpayers are paying for generous personal and vacation leave banks for superintendents—totaling up to 80 days (15 weeks) off when combined with school holidays, for which they are also paid to be off. Many of these days can be “cashed out” annually or upon leaving the district for considerably more pay.
- One superintendent — Jeremy Calles, of the Tolleson Union High School District — is making nearly half a million dollars per year. That’s over $100,000 more than any other superintendent in Arizona— even though his district ranks only 16th in size and posts mediocre academic results.
Goldwater’s study points to a remedy: require every district to post contracts online, publish total compensation numbers that include every perk, and simplify pay structures by replacing the web of stipends with a clear, upfront salary and standard benefits. Teachers, taxpayers, school boards, and superintendents themselves would all gain from the clarity. Most of all, accountability would be restored in a system where concealment has long been the rule.
Read the full report here.
