The state Board of Education voted today to raise the base salaries of various executives, including the department superintendent and deputy superintendent.
Now, DOE Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi, whose three-year contract board members renewed earlier this month, will make $200,000 annually instead of $150,000. Deputy Superintendent Ronn Nozoe’s salary will increase from $140,000 to $160,000, while assistant superintendents and complex area superintendents will receive 4 percent raises.
The BOE came under fire in early June when it renewed Matayoshi’s contract despite being asked to hold off on a decision. A group of retired principals say the department is in need of a major facelift, criticizing its leadership for failing to address their concerns about school reform initiatives.
The board’s decision today puts into effect a bill passed this year by the 2014 Legislature that increases the cap on the superintendent’s salary to $250,000. It had been capped at $150,000 in 2000, a figure well below the salaries of superintendents overseeing school districts of comparable size.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed that bill, House bill 2257, into law yesterday.
BOE Chairman Don Horner said today that Matayoshi deserves the raise, citing her “solid performance” over the past three years in improving student achievement, fiscal management and accountability and efforts to reorganize the department as part of its “Strategic Plan.”
