EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was written in response to a reader-submitted question through Open Source, a platform where readers can ask Richland Source’s newsroom to investigate a question. This story was published after a question was posed by an anonymous reader.
ASHLAND — One thing is clear: superintendents have a big job.
What is often unclear is how boards decide to compensate superintendents for that big job.
A reader, who wished to remain anonymous, submitted a question to Ashland Source’s Open Source platform recently that asked how much Doug Marrah, superintendent for Ashland City Schools, makes.
The answer is $163,500, according to 2020 data from the Ohio Office of Budget and Management.
However, after stipends and bonuses, that figure rose to $167,633 this year, said the district’s treasurer, Kyle Klingler. Marrah’s contract calls for another 3.33% raise next year.
The median salary for a superintendent in Ohio was $115,054 in 2020, shows Ohio Department of Education data.
Nationally, the median salary in 2019 ranged from $117,500 in the smallest districts to $388,709 in larger systems, an American Association of School Administrators survey found.
Marrah’s salary is the highest in Ashland County by more than $60,000, at least when comparing other superintendents’ base salaries within the county.
His salary also represents the highest within the Ohio Cardinal Conference by nearly $30,000. The conference includes schools in the area with similar student enrollment numbers.
Marrah’s salary is still a far cry from some of the top-paid superintendents in Ohio.
Generally, salaries increase as district enrollment increases.
Eric Gordon of Cleveland Municipal, for example, makes $257,588. That district’s enrollment in 2020 was 37,148.
The are many possible factors in determining a superintendent’s salary, said Cheryl Ryan, Director of Board and Management Services at the Ohio School Boards Association.
Ryan said a school board will consider “performance, progress toward district goals, current market competition considering the district’s size, demographics, geographics” and district-specific challenges.
“They will consider the superintendent’s accumulated experience and leadership skills,” Ryan said.
Marrah was first hired as Ashland’s superintendent in 2011 with a base salary of $120,000.
There are more than 700 school districts across the state, and with each come different responsibilities. But in general, a superintendent’s responsibilities include advancing the district’s vision, mission and goals by working with board members and other administrators to meet federal, state and local laws — including regulations and policies.
Superintendents also supervise principals across multiple buildings and they often are charged with “consistently and successfully managing communications between the district and the community, and in particular with families whose children are students, Ryan said.”
“It’s a huge job, and this is without considerations of massive upheavals caused by pandemics or other crises,” she said.
Ryan said most superintendents are doing all that work within “very tight budgets.”
It’s a job that Zack Truax, Ashland’s board president, said Marrah does very well.
“I consider myself lucky and the community at large to be fortunate. (Marrah) is a strong leader who cares about the kids and the taxpayers … He’s never made a decision that wasn’t for the greater good of the school,” he said. Truax has served on the board since 2018.
Truax described Marrah’s leadership as “thoughtful” and “exemplary.”
“And you can never tell if he’s 100% on board with things we vote on. He executes everything with the same type of leadership. I can’t say enough about him. So kudos to the people who hired him,” he said.
Ashland’s school board gave Marrah a 3% raise in May for his performance from Aug. 1, 2020 through July 31. During the same May meeting, the board also gave Marrah a 3.33% raise for work performed Aug. 1 through July 31, 2022.
His raises cannot exceed 3.33%, according to his contract with the district.
His contract also says he receives two $5,000 stipends every year.
One of the stipends is to compensate for the costs associated with transferring retirement credits from Florida. The benefit extends through 2023.
The other stipend is to reimburse “travel, professional dues, professional meetings, service club dues and fees, and other appropriate expenses.”
