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Michelle King Deputy Superintendent of School Operations
Working for LA Unified could put you among the nation’s highest wage earners.
In closed session Tuesday, the school board approved contracts for senior staff, including five worth more than $200,000 a year, more than twice the salary of the highest-earning teachers in the district.
The highest paid official in this round of contracts, according to data from the district, is Deputy Superintendent of School Operations Michelle King, who is getting a three-year contract for $275,000, plus use of a district-owned car. That makes King a member of the country’s coveted/maligned 2 percent upper-crust.
The other top four are Chief Facilities Officer Mark Hovatter, who will get a pay bump to $244,200.96 for another two years; Chief Financial Officer Megan Reilly, who will continue making $221,998.00 for the next three years; Chief Information Officer Ron Chandler, whose salary will remain at $212,724 for the next two years; and Chief Operating Officer Enrique Boull’t, who has a two-year contract with an annual salary of $206,069.04.
Hovatter and Chandler will also receive a $250 a month car allowance. And, Boull’t and Reilly will get district-owned cars.
Despite assertions by the district that no one received a raise, 11 people did get salary increases in the form of classification based “steps.”
Other notable salaries include Steven Zipperman, the Chief of Police, who is at the top of his salary range, at $170,475. Matt Hill, Chief Strategy Officer, has a fixed rate of $196,352. Similarly, Gerardo Loera, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction, will make $154,164 per year. All three had their contracts extended through June 2017.
In all, 52 contracts were offered. Of those, four people got a one-year deal, 37 got a two-year deal, and 11 got a three-year contract. Twenty-eight are also entitled to a $250 monthly car allowance, while 15 will be issued a car.
Not all of the district’s senior staff were included in this round of contracts because their deals expire at other times.
According to district data on teacher salaries, instructors generally make between $45,000 and 80,000.