On February 28th, I sent a Freedom of Information Act request to every single Delaware school district and charter school. The ask? Every single employee with an annual salary over $100,000. I based it on that specific number because I know pretty much every single assistant principal and up (with a few exceptions) makes over $100,000. One of the key questions in Delaware education is “Do we have too many administrators?”. This comes up every single time the state budget conversation heats up or a district goes out for a referendum.
When I put out each district or charter school in the coming days, looking at it by itself could answer that question for you. But only when you compare all of them together can that question really be answered. I did devise a formula to determine if Delaware does indeed have too many administrators. Once all the different posts are up, I will answer that question. My formula does not factor in the amount of those salaries, just how many a district or charter has.
The last time I posted salaries like this it was very basic and much smaller in scope. My source for the information back then was The News Journal. This time I did it all myself. Many districts were very thorough with their information whereas others were not. It took a lot of research and time, but I was able to fill in the missing pieces for various titles provided. I’m not complaining. It allowed me to dig into all the schools in Delaware and put names with faces in some cases.
I will say this- many administrators have received some hefty raises in just four years! But some haven’t. In looking at that old list, I was astonished by how many superintendents and charter school leaders have resigned or retired. The information I received is base salaries and does not include bonuses or other stipends (like transportation allowances).
I am still waiting on two districts and three charters to send me their FOIA response but they are later in the alphabet. So by the time I get to them I should have their FOIA response.
I want to thank all the folks who compiled this information based on my requests. Some I’ve known for years while others I’ve just met through this process.
The Season Of Myths 
Any thoughts about doing something like this for DOE? I’d know I’d be curious to know the salaries some of those people are making – considering many of them left their $100k+ jobs in districts to go work at DOE.
I’d even be curious to know the salaries of all employees. I know some people that worked there years ago and they said there was huge discrepancies among the pay of the administrative staff compared to the number of employees or departments they supported.
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You don’t think I would leave the DOE out of all this, did you? Of course I got them. They will be last.
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Did you filter out the teachers who over $100,000 or did the schools? I know of several and they are not on you lists (full disclosure-I am one of them).
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I went with what the districts and charters provided me. As a reminder, this is merely BASE salaries. It does not include overtime, EPER, coaching, etc. I have heard of teachers who do make over $100k but absolutely none of the FOIAs I received reflect that.
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