With the return of school closure talks at Olympia School District, community members called out the school board for giving large salaries to administrative officials.
The Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services is poised to receive a yearly salary of $204,035, the highest paid position on the list of the 2025-26 Salary Schedule for Cabinet Members and Certificated Administrators
The position, which is available in the upcoming school year, is well above the highest paid position of $188,278 last year. That salary was for the Executive Director of Finance & Capital Planning.
The lowest raise on the list translated to a 3.75 percent increase for the Director of Multilingual & Categorical Programs, whose salary climbs to $157,642 from $151,937 in the 2024-25 salary schedule.
Brian Brannies pointed out that the salaries the board is planning to give are “unsustainable and reckless.”
He argued that millions of dollars are being spent on escalating salaries with no explanation or open dialogue for the public to see.
“The existential issue that faces this district is skyrocketing payrolls. Pay increases that outstrip inflation, funding from the Legislature, and our (tax) levy,” Brannies said.
Brannies added if the board references competition in salaries with neighboring districts as a reason, it implies this is a normal labor market where supply and demand are at play, but the board has yet to create the demand for the executive positions.
Public commenter Ben Higgins presented data describing the district’s long-term financial health in comparison to the performance of other districts. Higgins said if the district wanted to double its ending fund balance, it would need to close six schools.
“We are either in financial peril, or we need to close schools, or we're hiring people starting at $204,000 per year, as well as another $84,000 in raises alone for 11 people. It cannot be both,” Higgins said.
Superintendent Patrick Murphy lauded the board, which, according to him, has tried to keep salaries of executives competitive.
“I really appreciate, in my eight years in the district, the history of the board, when I've come and asked to keep the salaries of our employees competitive. ... As much as possible, the board has tried to do that,” Murphy said.
He added that giving raises is how the district becomes competitive, how it recruits, retains and attracts people for positions.
The school board passed the salary schedule in a 3-1 vote.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include the correct spelling of the name of commenter Brian Brannies.
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Honestyandrealityguy
They should be held accountable for the students being at or above average whencompared across the country. Way behind right now.
Wednesday, July 2 Report this
If these administrators possessed MBA’s and real world private sector experience rather than EdD’s the salaries noted would seem slightly less objectionable.
Wednesday, July 2 Report this
longtimeresident
Keeping salaries of executives competitive is such a lame excuse. Can't the Superintendent for OSD come up with something better? Of course.....he can't.
Thursday, July 3 Report this
BevBassett
The real need is for teachers--not executives. This same amount of money would buy the OSD about three teachers according to Goggle, which I'll copy and paste below. OSD is already executive heavy. The real need is in the classroom.
AI Overview
The starting salary for a teacher in the Olympia School District is estimated to be around $54,211 per year, according to ZipRecruiter. This is equivalent to about $26.06 per hour. However, salaries can range from $35,900 to $74,525, depending on experience and other factors.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:
Average starting salary: $54,211 per year.
Hourly rate: Approximately $26.06.
Range of salaries: From $35,900 to $74,525.
Top earners: Some teachers in Olympia can earn as much as $68,091 annually.
Salary.com: States that the salary range for Public School Teachers in Olympia, WA, can be between $43,290 and $89,865.
Factors that can influence a teacher's salary include experience, education level, and specific job responsibilities within the school district.
Thursday, July 3 Report this
OregonianOlympian
@BevBassett - your numbers are incorrect, which is a good reason why AI isn't reliable. Olympia School District teachers make between $60k and $126k a year base salary with the ability to go higher with specialty pay. Yes, you read that correctly. The most common salary paid to Olympia teachers, based on longevity and education level (e.g. Masters), is $120k a year. Essentially, if you've been an OSD teacher for 15+ years you are getting that.
Paraeducators in OSD (the people in classrooms, shoulder to shoulder with teachers, and helping special ed students with IEPs) make about $31k a year if they are full-time. This newly reallocated Assistant Superintendent role and salary would pay for 6 or 7 paras! If those resources were deployed in an elementary school it could change student outcomes significantly. It would help teachers struggling with an overload classroom immensely.
Parents are especially tired of seeing resources going to the top of the district, spent on roles that are not student facing, with tenuous claims about their impact on student achievement. Parents are exhausted on the topic of school closures when this district has been given the largest revenue for an operating budget ever. The community is sick of these pay decisions not being discussed openly. Bravo to JOLT for starting to make light of these salary increases.
Thursday, July 3 Report this