Salary Gap: Milpitas Unified Administrators vs. Teachers

Every year, the Mercury News compiles a list of public salaries.

The most recent data is a collection of the salaries of public employees from 2011. 

The pages and pages of information reveal a fact that is not surprising, but is important and worth discussing. In Milpitas, the superintendent earned $100,000 more than the highest-paid teacher in the entire Milpitas Unified School District.

In 2011, Karl Black made a base salary of $207,104 with a total employment cost of $288,726 including benefits. Mark Schoeller, an English teacher at Russell Middle School, earned $107,123 with a total employment cost of $130,778.

Over 100 teachers in the district earned salaries in the $80,000-$90,000 range in 2011 — a staggeringly high number for the job, which in other parts of the state pays far less.

However, there are also plenty of teachers earning considerably less than that — down in the $50,000-$60,000 range, and some even lower (including part-time teachers). Bus drivers, secretaries and maintenance workers are often paid in the $40,000 realm.

Remember, this is your tax money that pays these salaries, and your right to know and discuss. 

Check out the chart below with a sample of some of the salaries and then tell us: Should administrators make that much more than teachers? Do these salaries seem fair to you? Sound off in the comments!