CPS Principal Pay

The headline in yesterday's Chicago Sun Times dealt with 'Chicago's Top-Paid Principals.' The half page article also laid out the annual salaries of all of the high school and elementary school principals exluding the charters (why is that?).

The range of salaries, from top to bottom, had a high end $154,920.86 to the low end $114,318.29. The average of all principals salaries was reported to be $133,000.

Though the article didn't state that CPS principals are overpaid or paid more than they are worth, I felt that the reporting gave the reader a sense that they were making plenty of money; in fact, maybe too much. I feel this way, in part, because the Sun Times compared CPS principal salaries to those of Elgin and Wheaton Warrenville. The article noted that CPS principal salaries are greater than those in these two districts.

I am certain that had the Sun Times selected Hinsdale District #86, Lyons Twp., Lake Forest District #115 or Niles CHSD #219 to compare salaries, it would be reveled that CPS principals would make far less than their counterparts in these four districts.

So I found it interesting that the Sun Times made sure they found districts, outside of the CPS system, where principals made less than the $133,000 average made by CPS principals.

Here's the real crux of the matter as far as I'm concerned. Running a CPS school, in many cases, is a real challenge. To get right down to it, it's far more than a challenge it's a daunting endeavor. Quite often principals are dealing with broken homes, violence in the neighborhood and too few resources in addition to a whole host of other problems besides working to ensure students get a quality education. They'll earn every bit of the $133,000.

Let's look at it another way. Running a company with 500, 1000, 2100, or 2700 employees is a huge undertaking. I am certain that the vast number of CEO's in America with this number of employees is making far more than $133,000 per year and with far fewer hassles to deal with than CPS principals!!!

I have worked with Chicago Public School principals and can tell you that the money that they earn is not wasted. The vast majority of CPS principals are well worth what they are paid. In fact, it would be pretty easy to prove that far too many principals are worth more than the average $133,000 figure. That should be the emphasis of the Sun Times article.

Dick