School administration in recent years around South Carolina has become a seemingly lucrative profession. According to Govsalaries.com, the average annual salary of a School Superintendent in South Carolina is over $158,000 per year. In many of those cases, the Superintendent and other administrators in school district's also receive a vehicle to drive from the district. In my home district of Oconee County, at least a few School District Employees drive district owned and issued Chevy Tahoes , which get about 14 miles per gallon. Which makes little economic sense considering we had been going through a spike in gas prices.
All of these salaries and benefits are paid for by tax payer money. In many districts, the number is higher than the $158,000 average. A recent study says South Carolina's public schools are struggling compared to the national average. A research study from Wallethub ranked South Carolina 46th nationally. The Palmetto State scored well below the national average in math testing scores, media scores for the SAT and ACT and in dropout rate. With that said, it would seem to make sense that administrators would make less on their base pay and more in incentives if they are able to raise the level of performance in their district. That's generally the model that private companies use for their executives. So the question today is, should most of a school administrator's pay be based on the performance of the school or school district they oversee? Let us know, below.
