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# Schools superintendent underpaid
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/schools-superintendent-underpaid-editor/
- Published: 2004-11-30T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T05:44:27.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Malibu, #archive-import

*By Celia Carroll Santa Monica*

In the Daily Press’ lead article for Nov. 22, “Administrators take top school salaries,” (page 1), it was noted that Schools Superintendent John Deasy earns $172,351\. The tone seemed to imply that this was an excessive amount.

As a member of the community group which interviewed applicants for the superintendent of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District four years ago, I participated in the national recruitment for our superintendent. I called a highly-regarded superintendent of a 60-school, 55,000-student district in Texas, Jack Jordan. I asked him several questions to learn how a skilled administrator structures a successful learning environment for all students.

To my question, “How are teachers supported in their classes and how are they held accountable for student learning outcomes?”

Superintendent Jack Jordan responded: “We recruit principals who can lead, work with parents and solve problems. When principals do this, teachers feel supported. People must work in tandem for the district to succeed. Good promotional opportunities for staff are important. The goal is for everyone hired to really care about the school district and its success. We individualize academic classes and pull four or five students into summer academies with the best teachers. Teachers learn how to work with different learning styles, for example with students who have trouble understanding information presented verbally, or students who have problems with visualization.”

The intelligent and insightful management which Supt. Jordan describes requires highly educated and experienced administrators. They must be adequately compensated to be retained.

According to Supt. Jordan, our superintendent’s salary ranked much too low nationally. A school superintendent should be paid at least $250,000\. The Dallas school district was recruiting a superintendent four years ago and offering a $285,000 salary. The Santa Monica-Malibu district was fortunate that Supt. Deasy was intrigued enough with the unique set of opportunities and challenges here to take the job. He is underpaid given the intellectual and educational background the job demands.

I ask again, “Why is it OK for athletes and stock brokers to earn six-figure salaries, but not the most influential people overseeing our children’s education?”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 30, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/113004.pdf?ref=smdp.com)