ALBANY — The number of school district employees outside New York City paid more than $100,000 has jumped from 32,914 in 2008-09 to 48,703 in 2013-14, according to a report from the Empire Center for Public Policy, representing a 48 percent increase over the last five years.
Two of the top 20 highest paid employees in the Capital Region are in districts here in Greene County.
According to the data released, Catskill Central School Superintendent Kathleen Farrell ranked 9 on the Capital Region list with a salary of $191,250 and Windham-Ashland-Jewett Superintendent John Wiktorko ranked 19 at a salary of $170,295.
In a press release, the Empire Center noted that the highest paid school employee in the state is the assistant superintendent of Riverhead Central School, a public school district located in the eastern part of Suffolk County, who took home a salary of $376,340.
The newly updated database includes pay information for 367,867 employees, as reported to the New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2014, and to the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2014. Not reflected in the data are the costs of fringe benefits such as healthcare, pension contributions and other employee benefits.
The Empire Center for Public Policy, Inc. is an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit think tank based in Albany.
© 2014 Catskill Daily Mail
You may also like
EDITORIAL: CAN WE AFFORD SIX -FIGURE PENSION AS THE NORM?
Six-figure pensions are becoming the norm among retirees from New York’s largest downstate suburban police departments, according to data posted at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
It’s never simple arithmetic with schools
Earlier this week, the Empire Center did its own report on the plummeting numbers when it comes to students. Overall, the 2019-20 enrollment is at its lowest levels in New York state in the last 30 years. Read More
EDITORIAL: State schools continue spending more for less
As reported by the Empire Center last week, “The number of students enrolled in New York state public schools is the lowest recorded in 30 years.”
Since 2000, enrollment in public schools has declined by more than 10 percent statewide with most of it upstate as enrollment in New York City schools has increased 1.3 percent in the last 10 years. Students are not leaving to go to private or parochial schools either because they, too, are showing declines, down about 8 percent in the last decade. Read More
Comptroller warns of financial distress at the MTA, and the MTA goes on a hiring spree
According to Ken Girardin, a labor analyst at the right-leaning Empire Center for Public Policy, every new police officer will cost the MTA roughly $56,000, which means the new personnel would initially cost the MTA roughly $28 million a year.
Those costs should rapidly increase over time, as police salaries rapidly increase. Read More
TOP SALARIES IN WESTCHESTER FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
One of the great government watchdogs in New York State is the Empire Center for Public Policy, led by EJ McMahon. The Empire Center recently came out with its annual report on overtime costs and the highest earning public servants in NYS. Read More
Genesee Community College president tops pay list in Finger Lakes
ALBANY — Genesee Community College President Dr. James Sunser was the highest-paid municipal government worker in the Finger Lakes region, according to the latest edition of “What They Make,” the Empire Center’s annual report summarizing total local government pay. Read More
Soon it will be the 1950s again as enrollment continues to drop in New York schools
Mount Morris had the highest increase among any district outside of New York City, according to a report released Tuesday by The Empire Center for Public Policy in Albany. Read More
Pensions New York taxpayers can’t afford
Another day, another shocking Empire Center revelation. Announcing the latest update to its SeeThroughNY database of New York public employee pensions, the watchdog flagged the city government retirees now scoring the highest pensions. Read More