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CONTACT: Tim Hoefer

(518) 434-3100

Payroll records for 121,961 custodians, bus drivers, aides, secretaries and other non-professional public school employees were posted today at SeeThroughNY.net, the transparency website sponsored by the Empire Center for Public Policy.

Combined with teacher and administrator information previously posted on the site, SeeThroughNY now offers searchable databases of more than 385,000 individuals who worked for school districts outside New York City. (New York City school salaries were posted on SeeThroughNY as part of the city payroll in January.)

The data for non-professional school employees cover the 12 month-period ending March 31, 2009, as reported to the New York State Employees Retirement System. Also available on the site are names and salaries of 256,568 teachers and administrators employed during the 2007-08 school year, as reported to the New York State Teachers Retirement System.

According to the data, the highest paid non-professional school employee (outside New York City) was Steven H. Prigohzy of the New York Institute for Special Education, who was paid $230,000.Rounding out the top 10 list were:

• Dennis Sheridan, director of school facilities, Hewlett-Woodmere Union Free Schools,$202,306;
• Kathleen Ryan, business manager, Rye City School District,$192,284;
• James O’Brien, director of instructional support and technology, Westchester 2 BOCES, $187,351;
• Gary Valenti, assistant superintendent for administration, Brighton Central Schools, $186,004;
• Alfred Cordero, director of student health and wellness, Yonkers Public Schools, $185,815;
• David Prichett, Ardsley Union Free Schools, business manager,$185,588;
• Linda Carpenter, Ossining Union Free Schools, finance director,$184,296;
• Joseph Hartman, treasurer, Kiryas Joel Village Union Free Schools, $183,968; and
• Ronna Telsey, director of adult education and public information, Great Neck Public Schools $179,806.

A list of the top 100 paid non-professional school employees is available here. (School payroll data reported to the ERS and included in SeeThroughNY list do not includes job titles, which were obtained from separate sources for the highest paid employees listed above.)

The SeeThroughNY website also offers searchable payroll databases, with search results downloadable in spreadsheet form, for all state agencies and public authorities; and the City of New York (including teachers). Other government databases at SeeThroughNY include teacher union contracts and school superintendent employment contracts for all school districts; bi-annual legislative office expenditures; legislative “member item” pork barrel spending; and links to other government and private databases.