The upshot is: People don’t leave districts; they leave experiences. “Districts don’t just lose people to competitive pay; they lose them when work becomes unsustainable, trust erodes or staff feel unseen,” these leaders contend in “A Field Guide for People Leadership in Public Education.”

Teachers and other staff are particularly eager for support with challenging student behavior. The field guide offers several other provisions that build morale:

• Additional planning time
• Structured onboarding
• Mentoring for early-career employees
• Clear evaluation system
• Role-specific PD
• Leadership pathways.

“When leaders solve real problems for staff, it is felt more powerfully than symbolic support or naming values,” the superintendents point out.

The balance underpinning high morale is not a calibration of freedom and accountability. It is between professional trust and professional standards. “Strong people want to work in systems where excellence is protected, not diluted by avoidance,” the field guide observes.

The full guide, which also covers budgeting, retention and morale, is available with . After signing up, navigate to the People section of the Content Hub, which is listed on the left-side menu of 91心頭+.

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When accounting for inflation, teacher pay decreased by 5% over the last decade, despite average salaries reaching nearly $74,500 last school year, according to new data from the , the country’s largest teachers union.

Elected officials are barring districts’ ability to adjust teacher salaries, according to NEA President Becky Pringle.

“Leaders have tolerated widening income inequality, allowing CEO compensation to climb dramatically while educators struggle to maintain their spending power,” Pringle said.

Pringle suggested that unions greatly increase teachers’ purchasing power. Union members earn 24% more on average in states with collective bargaining rights, according to the data.

“Unions help ensure educators are paid fairly and have the working conditions they need to support their students,” Pringle said.

Important teacher pay figures

• $48,112:油The national average starting teacher salary.
• Mississippi: Ranked last in the nation for average teacher salary at $54,975.
• California: Ranked first in the nation for average teacher salary at $103,552.
• Montana: Ranked last in the nation for average starting teacher salary at $36,682.
• Washington, D.C.:油Ranked first in the nation for average starting teacher salary at $64,640.
• $80,176:油The average salary for K12 teachers in states covered by bargaining laws.
• Top-end salary growth:油31% of school districts now have a maximum salary of at least $96,000. Seven percent still pay a top salary below $60,000.
• $38,494: The average salary for full-time education support professionals. Inflation-adjusted pay has fallen nearly 9% over the past decade.

Find more solutions in the full “Field Guide for People Leadership,” which is available with .油Then, navigate to the People section of the Content Hub, which is listed in the menu on the left side of 91心頭+.

Leadership action

Amid budget deficits and enrollment declines, superintendents are looking for unique ways to boost teacher salaries, and in some cases, balance wages.

For instance, Colorado’s Boulder Valley School District has the highest teacher salaries in the state, nearing $100,000���roughly $20,000 above the state average, according to . However, maintaining such high compensation levels has become difficult, Superintendent Rob Anderson told the news outlet.

Roughly 46% of Boulder Valley’s teachers are at the top of the pay scale, earning between $92,814 and $129,589 per year. Additionally, roughly 90% of the district’s budget is spent on salaries, primarily teachers.

The district is offering $15,000 buyouts to veteran teachers and replacing them with newer, lower-cost educators. The new structure would raise new teacher starting salaries while shedding some of the district’s highest-paid staff.

Unions are also pressing district leaders to油improve teacher pay. This week, the Milwaukee school board approved wage increases for employees represented by the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association, according to .

The board approved a 1.5% increase starting in July 2026 and another 1.3% increase by January 2027, contributing to a total 2.63% based increase by next year.

The decision to implement the district’s final offer came after a mediator declared an impasse in negotiations between the district and the union.

“There were no easy decisions here, however we are ultimately bringing employees to a full 2.63% increase by January while maintaining our obligation to present a balanced budget to the Board next month,” said Superintendent Brenda Cassellius.

The union shut down multiple blocks outside the district headquarters in protest of announced job cuts. Last month, Milwaukee Public Schools said it plans to cut approximately 260 non-classroom positions to address a $46 million structural budget deficit, WISN .

檎艶温糸油District 91心頭istration’s油latest leadership coverage.

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Sioux Falls School District shaved $3 million from the current school year’s budget under Superintendent Dr. Jamie Nold. His latest spending plan should油save another $2 million this upcoming school year.

“That’ll get us to a pretty good place so that we’re running on a balanced budget again,” he says.

Nold, who was just named “Rookie of the Year” by the South Dakota School Superintendent’s Association, says post-pandemic油budgeting油has forced many schools into a deficit.

Systems such as Colorado’s Cherry Creek School District are planning for steep job cuts due to budget reductions and overstaffing, Denver7 . In New York, two Syracuse area districts, Jamesville-DeWitt and Fulton City, are also anticipating staff reductions in their 2026-27 budgets.

Preserving jobs

When Nold took the helm, he promised employees that their jobs were safe amid budget油reductions. Natural attrition is one way to protect staff.

Rather than laying people off, the district opted not to fill administrative positions and other roles as employees retired or left.

He also invited teachers to propose solutions, some of which, like a four-day work week, weren’t viable. Teachers insisted that classroom sizes remain unchanged and suggested reducing assessments and avoiding massive overhauls of the curriculum.

Teachers also wanted their colleagues���not outside providers���to lead professional development.

“We can save some dollars there because we have incredible knowledge within our district,” Nold says.

Leadership rooted in ‘shared ownership’

The Sioux Falls School District belongs to the community, not to its superintendent, Nold explains. This mindset ensures everyone has a seat at the table.

“The ownership has to be shared,” Nold says. “The budget that goes through, we have to make sure that we do that with feedback from our community.”

Nold’s award recognizes his wave of face-to-face meetings with community members, including local lawmakers. Nold acknowledges that new leaders will face negativity in their first year but urges them to “put aside the fear of talking to people.”

“I agreed to meet with any group to speak about our schools, budget and油our success because we have so many stories,” he says. “It’s a concerted effort to meet with as many in our community, to get our legislative people in here to meet with our board members so they know our vision.”

Leaders should also invite stakeholders into schools to see educators at work and to diffuse some of the negative narratives plaguing public education.

“When they come into the classroom and see what our teachers are actually doing, they’re incredibly impressed.”

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will take the helm on July 1, replacing Dr. Sonja Brookins Santelises, who led the district for 10 years. ���His diverse leadership roles throughout his career will be a tremendous asset, as he helps propel our district by pushing students toward success while advocating for the district���s needs,” Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners Chair Robert Salley said in a statement.油

Dawson was previously an administrator in Birmingham City Schools (Alabama), Fulton County Schools (Georgia), Duval County Schools (Florida) and Houston ISD (Texas).

, now superintendent of Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools in Minnesota, was chosen to lead Hopkins Public Schools in the same state. Thomas previously served as superintendent of Colorado Springs School District 11 and an administrator in Minneapolis Public Schools.

In California, the Los Banos Unified School District selected as its new superintendent. Valla now leads the Vista del Mar Union School District. National School District named as its first Latina superintendent.

The Hazelwood School District made its next leader. Jamison is superintendent of the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District. In Iowa, the Clayton Ridge Community School District appointed to its top spot. Marley is shared superintendent of the Nashua-Plainfield and Tripoli community school districts.

In Michigan, Reed City Area Public Schools’ next superintendent is , who previously served as superintendent of Pewamo-Westphalia Community Schools. In New York, Patrick G. Harrigan was named superintendent of the Patchogue-Medford School District. He previously led the Half Hollow Hills Central School District.

Georgia’s Carroll County Schools promoted Associate Superintendent to the top spot, while , now deputy superintendent in Person County Schools, was named superintendent of Lexington City Schools in North Carolina.

In Texas, Superintendent David Walker is moving to Anahuac Independent School District from High Island ISD. Alvin ISD’s next leader is , an area superintendent at Lamar CISD.

takes the helm of New Mexico’s Cobre Consolidated School District on June 15. Gutierrez most recently served as the iConnect Zone superintendent in District 49 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In New York, Superintendent is moving to Plainedge Local Schools from the North Shore Central School District.

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• Rick Cohen, Shrewsbury Borough School (New Jersey)
• , Poland Local School District (Ohio)
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• , Chilton Public School District (Wisconsin)
• Ena Meyers, Lake Worth ISD (Texas)
• , Sun Prairie Area School District (Wisconsin)
• Solon Springs School District (Wisconsin)

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The October 2025 by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute found that most school board meetings center on budgets, staffing, and student resources, not ideological conflict. Few boards have become embroiled in contentious disputes over DEI policies or transgender student issues, the report concludes.

Nationally, nearly four in 10 board members identify as politically moderate, with board members’ political and educational views tending to align with those of the voters in their districts and with the U.S. public as a whole. That alignment suggests that extreme partisan conflict at the board level may be less inevitable than it appears and, critically, more preventable.

When conflict油escalates, however, the consequences for district leadership are serious: research shows that “conflict with the board” is among the most frequently cited reasons superintendents leave their positions.

A油Washington Association of School油91心頭istrators tracked record superintendent departures from politically polarized communities in recent years. Because leadership stability is consistently linked to stronger student outcomes, researchers argue that governance breakdowns carry direct academic consequences.

Here are several research-backed strategies for油reducing conflicts:

Define roles clearly and in writing

Research shows that the most effective boards follow a shared district vision when creating policies to improve student achievement,油leaving policy implementation and day-to-day operations to the superintendent and staff.

The Washington Association of School 91心頭istrators’ brief recommends that districts formalize this division of responsibilities in written policy, with explicit guidelines specifying that board members should not direct staff members other than the superintendent.

Adopt a code of civility

Superintendent and school board teams should consider adopting a code of civility to ensure respectful, productive meetings. Districts should include representatives from all stakeholder groups when developing these policies.

Research supports training staff in civil discourse and holding information sessions for community members. Civility policies also set a behavioral standard for students, families and the wider school community.

Use values-based dialogue when disputes arise

Superintendents are well-positioned to serve as neutral facilitators who can affirm multiple viewpoints without taking sides and frame disagreements as problems to be solved collectively.

Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation that facilitators:

• Help participants separate individual interests from stated positions.
• Build relationships through a common cause.
• Appeal to shared values, and treat areas of disagreement as opportunities for value creation rather than zero-sum contests.

Boards in districts with higher student achievement use program data, test scores, and other measures to inform their decisions, research shows. Strong, collaborative leadership between boards and superintendents is another cornerstone of strong student performance.

District 91心頭istration uses artificial intelligence to support research and drafting, with all content reviewed and verified by the author.

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The Department of Education’s for K12 and higher ed grants aim to prepare students and teachers for an AI-driven workforce by building their skills in the appropriate artificial intelligence use.

The agency intends to support AI literacy through expanded computer science courses and professional development. The new guidelines should encourage educators to use AI to personalize instruction, use AI to serve students with disabilities and streamline administrative tasks.

Dual-enrollment AI coursework and high-impact AI tutoring are examples of programs that could rate highly in grant proposals.油The rule also requires all funded AI projects to incorporate universal design for learning and to accommodate students with disabilities and multilingual learners. Federal funds will also support the use of AI to improve academic initiatives.

Feedback from educators, parents and industry leaders inspired the provisions requiring age-appropriate AI use. Several commenters expressed concerns about student privacy and increased screen time.

“Children already spend an average of 7.5 hours a day on screens for non-school activities,” according to one commenter. “Increased AI use will only deepen this crisis and exacerbate the physical and mental health harms of screen time.

The department emphasized that state and local agencies remain responsible for safety policies.

Public hesitancy persists

Many comments mirror those made by leading advocates in recent weeks following an AI summit held at the White House last month. Education experts believe the government’s vision for AI in education is out of touch.

During the “Fostering the Future Together Global Summit,” first lady Melania Trump introduced the idea of personalized AI tutoring with a humanoid robot.

���Imagine a humanoid educator named ���Plato,’��� she said. ���Access to the classical studies is now instantaneous���literature, science, art, philosophy, mathematics, and history���humanity���s entire corpus of information is available in the comfort of your home.���

This idea drew pushback from teachers’ unions. The president of the American Federation of Teachers described the first lady’s scenario as “every parent’s worst nightmare.”

“The tech billionaires tried to get technology 20 years ago to replace teachers, now they’re trying to get AI to replace teachers,” Randi油Weingarten told .

Meanwhile, optimistic leaders油want to merge the human element of instruction with tailored AI support. One expert described AI as a co-worker or a team member designed to collaborate back and forth with the user to achieve a particular goal.

This ���banter,��� said Pitsco Education CEO Matt Frankenbery, plays out as prompt engineering, i.e., asking questions, refining inputs and iterating through conversations with AI. These interactions require intentional thinking, adjustment and other key cognitive skills.

Because of this, Frankenbery challenges the narrative that AI clouds students��� critical thinking skills.

���If you don���t have the critical thinking skills of how to write that prompt and how to refine it, then you���re going to struggle to use AI effectively,��� he explains.

District 91心頭istration uses artificial intelligence to support research and drafting, with all content reviewed and verified by the author.

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King, a graduate of the district, began her career in Chicago Public Schools as a teacher, later became a principal and, from 2022 to 2025, served as senior director of education policy (P-16) in the Chicago mayor’s office. She aligned resources and policies across the school district, City Colleges, and early childhood programs.

���My priority as permanent CEO is clear: to keep students at the center of decisions and build on the academic gains of the past few years, advocate fiercely for the funding our students deserve, and move the district forward so that more students graduate ready to succeed in college, careers, and civic life,” King said in a statement.

St. Louis Public Schools promoted interim leader to superintendent. Like King, she started as a special education teacher and later became an instructional coach, principal and a human resources administrator.

A pair of Texas superintendents have found new homes. is taking the helm of Medina Valley Independent School District after having led Calallen ISD since 2022. South Texas ISD has chosen , who is the superintendent of Edcouch-Elsa ISD.

Middletown Public Schools in油Connecticut picked Vernon Public Schools Superintendent as its next leader. Macary was the state’s 2024 Superintendent of the Year.

In Minnesota, Superintendent is moving from Houston Public Schools ISD 294 to Aitkin Public Schools. Osakis Public Schools ISD #213 selected Brandon-Evansville ISD Superintendent Louisa Glenetske as its next leader.

Bill W. Hopkins Jr., a former superintendent of Fayetteville City Schools in Tennessee and Morgan County Schools, was picked to lead Florence City Schools in Alabama.

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• , Covington Independent Public Schools (Kentucky)

  

• , New Bloomfield R-III School District (Missouri)
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• Keith Mecham, Box Elder School District (Utah)
• , Osage Community School District/Riceville Community School District (Iowa)
• , Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District (Iowa)
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• , Lyon County Schools (Kentucky)
• , East Valley School District Board (Washington)
• Albert Sackey, Bethel Public Schools (Connecticut)
• , Scituate School Department (Rhode Island)
• Jeff Straka, Oregon City School District (Ohio)
• , Florence School District 3 (South Carolina)
• , New Philadelphia City Schools (Ohio)
• Marsielena Williams, Ozark City Schools (Alabama)
• , Lancaster County School District (South Carolina)

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“That was a challenge for me because I said, ‘I’m about to hand students a diploma and it’s a Decatur High School diploma and I don’t know if they can read it,'” says Whitaker, who previously served as deputy chief academic officer and an area superintendent in Fulton County Schools. “My deep knowledge in how to support all students in their learning is probably my greatest strength.”

Academic improvements over the last three years have been driven by sharp increases in the number of economically disadvantaged students performing at or above grade level across elementary, middle and high school.

“Our achievement gains have happened without regression to the mean,” she explains. “And that’s ultimately what you want���that rising tide where all ships rise.”

During her tenure in Decatur, Whitaker has made major changes, such as implementing a science of reading curriculum and a universal screening tool. Now, seven in 10 students are meeting or exceeding their growth goals and the district has surpassed pre-pandemic end-of-grade performance benchmarks.

In 2023, City Schools of Decatur was in Georgia’s top three for end-of-grade performance in English language arts, math, social studies and science about one-third of the time. That number has now risen to 78% and the district often lands at No. 1 in metropolitan Atlanta.

“Are we done yet? No,” she continues. “But when you look at what I’m most proud of, we have tackled literacy, we’ve tackled communications, we’ve tackled organizational leadership with measurable results and we’ve set up systems that will outlast personnel shifts.”

Amplifying student voices

Her beliefs that “equity is the vehicle to excellence” and “engagement inspires” are the central tenets of Whitaker’s leadership philosophy, and they’re how she rallies her educators around her academic goals for Decatur’s students.

A key task for her leadership is identifying barriers to providing students with high-quality instruction. She makes data readily available and provides professional development in change management. She says she leads with a combination of “support and pressure.”

“I help leaders see each and every child, and then what their needs are and how we address them,” she notes.

She keeps her educators and students engaged by having them serve on multiple committees, which include a student advisory council that comprises learners from kindergarten through high school. Students learn about everything from artificial intelligence policy to district budgeting.

To further amplify student voice, Decatur worked with city and state officials to become the first district in Georgia to elect a student member to its school board. That student is now lobbying the state legislature to allow other districts to put students on their school boards.

Early learning ambitions

Whitaker’s big goal is to open a new early childhood learning center in 2027-28 that will serve the children of district employees, along with Decatur’s most vulnerable learners. The new facility will expand the district’s full-pay center, and reserve one-third of its spaces for children of employees and another third, at no cost, for students with the greatest financial need.

“Give us your students in kindergarten, and we will get them to be skilled readers by third grade,” Whitaker says. “But if we had access to the students even earlier, potentially at birth …油 we would not have an achievement gap for me to close once they take that test in third grade.”

Providing space for the children of employees is a retention tool, and the center will also help the district create the next generation of educators. The center will serve as a lab school for high school students seeking credentials and careers in early childhood development.

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The state took control of the district last fall, citing, among other issues, the large number of students not performing at grade level.

Elsewhere, a diverse group of administrators is getting their first chances at the superintendency. In Missouri, , an assistant superintendent for the Affton School District, was named leader of the School District of Washington, where she began her teaching career.

Acting leader was promoted to superintendent of Windsor Public Schools in Connecticut. Another interim leader, , was promoted to superintendent of the Gates Chili Central School District in New York. Huntington County Community Schools in Indiana also promoted its interim superintendent, Chuck Brimbury, to the top spot.

New York’s Moravia Central School District promoted Deputy Superintendent to superintendent. Effingham Unit #40 Schools in Illinois promoted Assistant Superintendent to superintendent.

In Kansas, Katie Collier will take the helm of the Auburn-Washburn Unified School District 437 after serving as deputy superintendent of the Blue Valley Schools. In Ohio, , the director of business and personnel for Solon City Schools, was named superintendent of Perrysburg Schools.

In Pennsylvania, Joanna Wexler, now the assistant superintendent at the Great Valley School District, was chosen to lead the Central Bucks School District.

More new hires:

• John Connolly, Madison Public Schools (New Jersey)
• , Entiat School District (Washington)
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• , Munising Public Schools (Michigan)
• , Glendale School District 77 (Oregon)
• , Wrightstown Community School District (Wisconsin)

Sharing insights:油2 leaders you should’ve already followed on social media

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More than 38% of superintendents say their district’s “economic condition” is declining, according to The School Superintendents Association’s annual . Leaders are feeling more fiscal strain this school year in particular.

In districts with fewer than 1,000 students, financial distress is higher, according to the data. Superintendents attribute economic disparities to enrollment and local revenue capacity.

Despite these tensions, roughly 90% of superintendents intend to stay with their current district this upcoming school year, a trend that’s held steady over the last four years. The average superintendent now has more than seven years of experience in the superintendency and more than five years in their current district, challenging assumptions about nationwide turnover.

Meanwhile, superintendent salaries are on the rise. This school year, the mean superintendent salary is more than $178,000, nearly $10,000 more than last year. Salaries vary significantly based on enrollment size. See the table below:

Demographic shifts

The superinendency is gradually becoming younger and more female, the data suggests. More leaders are entering the profession in their 40s and early 50s, while the share of superintendents over the age of 60 continues to decline.

Women also make up more than a quarter of the nation’s superintendents and earn nearly as much as their male counterparts. Female leaders now earn about 98% of what male leaders make on average.

Other key metrics:

• More women leaders hold a doctorate (50.63%) than men(40.52%).
• A higher percentage of Black or African American leaders hold a doctorate (80.41%) compared to white (41%), Hispanic or Latino leaders (57.7%).
• Only 14% of superintendents have an incentive/performance clause or a defined provision award for accomplishing a predetermined goal.
• More than 60% of districts used legal counsel in contract negotiations compared to only 37% of superintendents who used legal counsel to negotiate their contracts.

Read the report .

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