Mackinac Center Updates Superintendent Compensation Database

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy has updated a database showing the compensation school superintendents receive around the state.

Parents, lawmakers, media and education officials can now easily see how their tax dollars are being spent when it comes to school district leadership. The Michigan Public School Superintendent Compensation Database shows how much each district spends on what superintendents are paid, including salaries, insurance, pensions and other benefits. The database shows how much was spent in the most recent year, which varies by district, and also notes when multiple superintendents were paid by the same district over the course of the year.

Currently, 31 head school officials made more than $300,000 in total annual compensation, including superintendents in Detroit, Roseville and West Ottawa.

Information in the database comes from Freedom of Information Act requests and district transparency websites. Nearly 90 percent of districts and ISDs responded to the project.