One hundred fourteen employees of New York’s school districts outside New York City were paid more than $300,000 in fiscal year 2026, up from 90 a year earlier, according to new data posted to SeeThroughNY.net.

The data covers 239,288 public school teachers, superintendents, principals and other administrators employed outside New York City, as reported by school districts and BOCES to the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS) for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2026.

Key Findings

• 82,791 district educators were paid $100,000 or more, 34.6 percent of the total, up from 78,866 the year before.
• 2,328 were paid more than $200,000, up 16 percent from 2,005.
• Full-time educators averaged $99,652, up from $97,506. Long Island had the highest regional average ($121,047); the North Country had the lowest ($74,937).
• Scarsdale UFSD had the highest district average for full-time educators, at $156,307.
• The median full-year school district superintendent was paid $215,922. A total of 174 superintendents were paid more than the governor’s $250,000 salary.
• Roslyn UFSD Superintendent Allison Feldman was the highest-paid educator at $436,976.
• School districts spent $12,345 in educator pay per student. Long Island districts spent $14,766 per student, compared with $9,112 in the Mohawk Valley.
• In every county outside New York City, the median full-time educator was paid more than the median full-time worker living there, by 33 percent in the typical county.

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A total of 82,791 district educators (34.6 percent) received six-figure pay, up from 78,866 (32.8 percent) the year before. The number paid more than $200,000 rose 16 percent, to 2,328 from 2,005. Two-thirds of six-figure earners worked in the downstate suburbs: 34,779 on Long Island and 19,736 in Westchester, Rockland and Orange counties.

Roslyn UFSD Superintendent Allison Feldman was the highest-paid educator at $436,976, followed by Great Neck UFSD Superintendent Kenneth Bossert at $420,781 and Oyster Bay-East Norwich CSD Superintendent Francesco Ianni at $412,663. Outside Long Island, Northeast CSD (Dutchess) Superintendent Raymond Castellani led at $389,357.

Full-Time Pay Nears $100,000

The number of employees earning more than the state minimum wage, used here as the count of full-time educators (FTEs), was 189,538. They averaged $99,652, up from $97,506 in FY2025. The median was $93,091, up from $90,822, and 43.7 percent earned $100,000 or more.

Note: Because anyone paid more than the minimum wage is counted as full-time, some part-time and partial-year employees are included, so the full-time averages and medians are likely understated.

Long Island had the highest regional average at $121,047, followed by the Mid-Hudson region at $117,045. The North Country had the lowest at $74,937. Western New York had the highest upstate average at $87,032.

Full-time NYSTRS members at 214 districts and BOCES averaged more than $100,000. All of them are on Long Island (121) or in the Mid-Hudson region (93).

Scarsdale UFSD in Westchester again had the highest average, $156,307 across 541 full-time educators, up from $150,828. Ninety percent of its full-time educators earned more than $100,000. Jericho UFSD had Nassau’s highest average at $149,994, and Half Hollow Hills CSD had Suffolk’s highest at $145,276. Outside the downstate suburbs, Depew UFSD in Erie County had the highest average at $99,475.

Among the Big Five city school districts, Yonkers averaged $143,937, Buffalo $95,664, Albany $94,449, Rochester $81,237 and Syracuse $80,141.

In the Capital Region, Shenendehowa CSD had the highest full-time average at $97,433, followed by South Colonie ($95,991) and Bethlehem ($95,990). South Colonie Superintendent David Perry was again the region’s highest-paid at $300,918, followed by Albany City Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter ($260,400) and Saratoga Springs Superintendent Michael Patton ($259,750).

Search or filter every district below. Superintendent pay is shown where the superintendent was confirmed.

174 Superintendents Out-Earn the Governor

The median school district superintendent who served the full year was paid $215,922, about 2.4 times the average full-time educator in their own district.

The analysis covers 643 superintendents whose identity was confirmed and matched to a NYSTRS payroll record: 612 who lead school districts and 31 BOCES district superintendents.

A total of 174 superintendents were paid more than the governor’s $250,000 salary. Of those, 89 lead Long Island districts and 54 lead Mid-Hudson districts.

The median Long Island superintendent was paid $302,277, nearly twice the North Country median of $170,032. Northeast CSD’s Raymond Castellani had the widest gap with his own staff: $389,357, or 4.0 times his district’s $97,708 full-time average. Upstate, the highest-paid superintendents were Donna Desiato of East Syracuse Minoa CSD ($310,881) and David Perry of South Colonie CSD ($300,918).

The 31 BOCES district superintendents were paid a median of $164,751, less than most of the district superintendents in their regions. The highest-paid was Julie Donlon-Yates of Genesee Valley BOCES at $176,171.

What Educator Pay Costs per Student

School districts spent $12,345 in NYSTRS educator pay for every student enrolled in 2025-26. Long Island districts spent $14,766 per student, 62 percent more than Mohawk Valley districts at $9,112.

The difference comes from pay, not staffing, with most regions employing around 12 educators per 100 students.

Among districts with at least 1,000 students, Southampton UFSD spent the most per student at $27,273. General Brown CSD in Jefferson County spent the least, $7,097. Among the Big Five, Buffalo spent $13,810 per student, Yonkers $13,163, Syracuse $12,398, Rochester $12,388 and Albany $12,057. Yonkers had the fewest full-time educators per student of the five, but by far the highest pay.

Very small districts spend the most per student. Fire Island, Newcomb and Bridgehampton each spent more than $40,000, spreading a minimum staff over a few dozen students.

Educators Earn a Third More Than the Typical Local Worker

In every county outside New York City, the median full-time educator was paid more than the median full-time, year-round worker living in that county, by 33 percent in the typical county. The gap was largest in Rockland and Suffolk counties, about 60 percent, where the median educator earned roughly $46,600 more than the median local worker. It was smallest in Ontario and Rensselaer counties, under 10 percent.

County earnings are U.S. Census Bureau estimates for 2020-2024 in 2024 dollars.

Additional Pay Records from NYSTRS

NYSTRS also reported 7,686 educators at other employers, who are not included in the figures above. Full-time staff at the 29 community colleges averaged $97,213, and those at the 34 charter schools averaged $64,694. Full-time staff at the Fashion Institute of Technology averaged $97,815, and those at the State Education Department averaged $101,668.

Stephen Tuttle of the Fashion Institute of Technology was paid $394,282, the most among these employers. Robert Humphrey Jr. of Cayuga Community College was paid $287,040, the most at any community college, and Raymond Ankrum of Riverhead Charter School was paid $283,934, the most at any charter school.

Data Notes:

1. This analysis covers educators reported to the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS). The full SeeThroughNY school payroll data also includes school employees in the NYS & Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), mostly non-teaching staff, who are not analyzed here.
2. Pay is for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2026. Figures are unaudited gross earnings and can include summer school, extra-duty, termination and other payments. They exclude benefits and pension contributions, and exclude retirees paid while also collecting a public pension.
3. Tallies do not include educators from community colleges, charter schools, the Education Department, vocational boards and the Fashion Institute of Technology.
4. The data does not identify full-time employees. The number of employees earning more than the state minimum wage ($32,240 a year, at the $15.50 hourly minimum outside New York City, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties on July 1, 2025) is used as the number of full-time employees. That count is likely overstated, because Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties have higher pay and because the minimum wage rose to $16.00 on January 1, 2026.
5. Superintendents were identified by matching the NYSED chief executive directory, district websites and news reports to payroll records. Only confirmed matches are included. Superintendents who started, left or served as interim during FY2026 are marked and left out of the percentile statistics.
6. Enrollment is the Pre-K-12 total reported to NYSED as of October 1, 2025 (BEDS Day). Per-student figures divide each district’s total NYSTRS pay by its enrollment and exclude BOCES and the 10 special act school districts that serve students in residential and treatment settings. Districts that pay tuition to send students elsewhere may show higher per-student figures.
7. County earnings are U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 estimates of median earnings for full-time, year-round workers (table S2001).