Twenty-four percent of public school teachers and administrators in New York school districts outside New York City were paid more than $100,000 during the 2017-18 school year, according to data added today to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website.
“New Yorkers pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation, most of which go to pay for teacher and administrator salaries. It is critical for taxpayers to see exactly where that money goes, and thanks to SeeThroughNY, they can,” said Tim Hoefer, executive director of the Empire Center.
The number of teachers and administrators collecting six-figure pay has nearly doubled—from 32,914 to 58,635—since salary data for public school educators were first posted on SeeThroughNY in 2008-09, Hoefer said. As of 2017-18, pay levels above $100,000 were concentrated in downstate districts, including 55 percent of teachers and administrators in Westchester County and 51 in Long Island. While the highest pay generally goes to superintendents, the amounts also include added severance payments to retiring teachers and other employees.
Pay levels are primarily driven by school district contracts with teacher unions and superintendents. All available contracts dating back to 2008-09 are posted on SeeThroughNY.net.
SeeThroughNY’s school district pay data are based on information reported by the districts to the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System, which covers all educational professionals employed outside New York City, and by the New York State and Local Retirement System, which covers some business administrators as well as support staff such as cafeteria workers, custodians and bus drivers.
The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to promoting policies that can make New York a better place to live, work and raise a family.