School District overloaded at top, critics say

Terry Webster

Tuesday, March 14, 2000 | 11:21 a.m.

Cost of Administration Salaries and benefits for Clark County Superintendent Brian Cram and 22 assistant and area superintendents:

Superintendent Brian Cram ($158,000 salary plus other compensation) -- $241,029

Assistant Superintendent and Chief Financial Officer Walt Rulffes -- $107,592

Leonard Paul, Secondary Education and Curriculum -- $102,420

Kay Carl, Elementary Education -- $102,420

Edward Goldman, Administrative Operations and Staff Relations -- $97,536

Tom Axtell, General Manager of KLVX Communications Group -- $97,536

Sidney Franklin, Alternative Education -- $97,536

Patrick Herron, Facilities -- $92,976

George Ann Rice, Human Resources -- $97,536

Charlene Green, Student Support Services -- $92,976

Philip Brody, Chief Technology Officer -- $88,536

Compensatory Education, position currently vacant

Don McHenry, Alternative Education -- $92,976

Steve McCoy, East Area Secondary Schools -- $92,976

Stephen Augspurger, South Area Secondary Schools -- $92,976

Billie Rayford, North Area Secondary Schools -- $92,976

Allen Coles, West Area Secondary Schools -- $92,976

Pamela Hicks, Outlying Area Secondary Schools -- $92,976

Maurice Flores, Southeast Elementary Schools -- $92,976

Carla Steinforth, East Area Elementary Schools -- $92,976

Michael Robison, Northwest Elementary Schools -- $88,536

Marsha Irvin, East Central Elementary Schools -- $88,536

Marjorie Conner, Northeast Elementary Schools -- $92,976

Eva Simmons, Southwest Elementary Schools -- $92,976

Total salaries of assistant and area superintendents: $2,083,896/$2,324,925

Cost of benefits: $543,148

Total cost of administration: $2,868,073.49

Source: Clark County School District Public Information Office

Clark County School District is scraping for money to pay a new leader the going rate while nearly $3 million a year is already being spent on salaries and benefits for out-going Superintendent Brian Cram and 22 assistant and area superintendents.

Now entering its second round of interviews in the search to replace Cram, the School Board is working to name a new superintendent in early April. The board also wants to offer a yearly salary in the $200,000 range, or $42,000 more than the $158,000 salary Cram is earning.

Combined salaries for all of the assistant and area superintendents in the district, along with Cram's, total $2.24 million. The entire amount spent in the district for all superintendent salaries and benefits rings up at $2.87 million.

Although Cram is the top-paid official in the district, his $158,000 salary falls at the bottom end of what superintendents are paid in other large urban school systems. It is even a small salary when compared to some small districts in the country.

Salaries for leaders in the top 10 school districts in the country range from $150,000 to $260,000.

"The superintendent in Dallas earns $260,000," said Paul Houston, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators in Arlington, Va. "There are people earning $200,000 in some of the smaller, wealthy school districts."

A 30-year Clark County School District veteran, Cram served the past 11 as superintendent. He announced his retirement two years ago and plans to leave at the end of July.

Working under Cram are a total of 22 assistant and area superintendents who are pulling in salaries of $88,536 to $107,592. A position for an assistant superintendent for compensatory education is currently vacant, according to the district's public information office.

"Twenty-two is a lot, quite frankly," Houston said. He added, however, that the salaries are not out of line.

"They are actually on the low side for a large urban district," he said. "A lot of principals now are earning over $100,000."

While the numbers can be looked at from a variety of angles, some critics still maintain Clark County is spending too much for superintendents.

"That's just the tip of the iceberg of wasteful spending and gross mismanagement in the district," said Louis Overstreet, frequent School Board critic and executive director of the Urban Chamber of Commerce. "I have been commenting on this for years. It's bizarre. But apparently the public just doesn't care."

Clark County spends $237,722 more in superintendent salaries than the district it is closest in size to, the Houston Independent School District in Texas. Houston has 211,000 students, compared to 217,000 in Clark County, the nation's eighth-largest district.

According to the Houston district's public information office, the school district has one general superintendent and 18 additional superintendents.

In salaries alone, Houston pays its superintendents a total of $2,004,174, compared to $2,241,896 in Clark County, which includes the area and assistant superintendents' salaries and Cram's salary.

But it's difficult to compare the two districts, school officials here argue, because Houston does not have the rapid growth of Clark County, which is increasing by about 1,000 students per month.

School Board member Lois Tarkanian, who often questions the district's spending, said she has compared Clark County with several other districts and has found Clark County is comparable with what other school districts pay for superintendents.

"About every two years I ask for information and it shows we fall just about average," she said. "Where I do have a concern is when you give the same percentage of increase to teachers and administrators. Two percent is a lot more money for the higher-paid people."

Tarkanian believes good administrators are worth their salaries.

"There are many administrators who work very, very hard," she said. "If people are competent and dedicated, they deserve the salaries they receive."

All of the superintendents play a vital role in the success of the district, School Board President Mary Beth Scow said.

"These people are very important," she said. "They are out there in the field evaluating principals, who are key people in the schools. A lot of studies have shown that the principal is crucial to a school's success."

Clark County's superintendent hierarchy works likes this: The assistants report directly to Cram and are responsible for everything under their division. For example, the secondary schools assistant superintendent deals with everything from student credits, curriculum and school zoning, to interacting with the Nevada Department of Education. Area superintendents, who report to the assistant superintendents, travel to the schools they are responsible for throughout the district and meet with principals.

Edward Goldman, assistant superintendent of administrative operations and staff relations, said the district's superintendents have use of a school district car, for business purposes only. They don't receive extra perks as Cram does, such as a $5,000 expense account or a personal-use vehicle.

"When you compare it to people in the private sector, it isn't that much," Houston said. "People in the private sector are making millions. And they don't have to endure going through a proctologist's exam in the newspaper."

Terry Webster covers education for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-4091 or by e-mail at terry@lasvegassun.com