Superintendent job requires Ann Clark to move to Mecklenburg County

Even though Ann Clark has been with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools for decades, her new job as superintendent is requiring her to move.

Clark has long lived on the shore of Lake Norman in Mooresville. That's in Iredell County. State law, however, requires school superintendents to live in the district that they lead.

I just got a hold of Clark's contract, and it states that she is to move to Mecklenburg County "as soon as possible." The CMS communications staff hasn't gotten back to me on whether she's moved yet. Her contract does not mention the district covering any relocation expenses that new superintendents typically get when they come in from out of town.

See Clark's contract here.

The contract also mentions that Clark won't be considered for the superintendent's position "long-term." If she is in the job on June 1, 2016, she'll be eligible for a bonus.

Morrison a bargain at $2.06 per student?

Raleigh TV station WRAL has created a fascinating database of contracts for all the state's superintendents. The list includes salary, bonuses and perks,  as well as a "pay per student" calculation.

Merrill

Not surprisingly, James Merrill in Wake County and Heath Morrison in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools have the highest salaries.  But they land at the bottom on a per-student calculation, with Merrill at $1.83 and Morrison at $2.06  (Morrison's would  be lower if the tally had included about 3,000 prekindergarten students in CMS).

Morrison

Morrison's $288,000 base pay is a combination of $151,413 in state pay and $136,587 in local money. Merrill gets $116,000 from the state and $159,000 from Wake County,  for a total of $275,000.  According to the WRAL article,  the state portion is based on number of students,  longevity and advanced certifications.  Districts use local money and perks to attract the leaders they want.

Morrison tops the list for base pay and potential bonus (10 percent of his base pay,  or $28,000).  But his benefits don't stand out as unusual.  The WRAL article notes that Currituck County provided its superintendent a rent-free house and agreed to fence the yard for her dogs. Superintendent Allison Sholar decided to move out about a year later,  the article says,  and the board amended her contract to give her an additional $1,200 a month  (while turning the house into office space).

Mooresville Superintendent Mark Edwards got 20 extra vacation days so he can visit out-of-state family, the article notes.

Salary wars: Superintendents vs. CEOs

Former CMS Superintendent Peter Gorman is on the cover of the most recent District Administration magazine as an example of the pay gap between head honchos in public school systems and private enterprise.

An article on the magazine's 11th annual salary survey leads with the fact that News Corp. "snatched two leading school district administrators to head its new education division"  --  Gorman from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Kristen Kane,  former chief operating officer of the New York City Department of Education.

The article notes that battles over superintendent pay are raging nationwide.  Expect to hear a lot of debate locally about what CMS should pay its next superintendent,  which the board plans to hire in spring 2012.  The salary survey won't provide a clear answer on the going rate for a district this size,  simply because there are so few  (CMS is the nation's 18th largest district,  according the data sheet with the Broad Prize).

The national average for 2010-11 was $161,992,  according to the survey,  but most of those are for much smaller districts.  "Salaries of more than $225,000 were seen in districts with enrollment levels of more than 25,000 students,"  the article reports.  CMS has about 138,000.  Gorman was making $267,150 when he left,  with an additional $30,000 in supplemental retirement pay and the option for a performance bonus up to 10 percent.

The District Administration article quotes Dan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Superintendents, on salaries in that range:  "An outlier for a salary may be $300,000 for large city school systems,  and there aren’t too many of those.  If we’re looking at $300,000 as the high end, that same person in the private sector leading a company of that magnitude would be making well over $1 million  --  that’s just a fact.”