How much do Tri-Cities school principals, administrators make? Check our salary database
Tri-Cities school administrators on average took home more than $140,000 in total salary during the last school year, and reported a base salary of about $138,000.
That’s according to calculations by the Tri-City Herald using the data of 390 public school administrators who oversaw and coordinated public instruction last school year throughout the region.
It includes superintendents, department directors, supervisors, principals and other school administrators who work in Kennewick, Richland, Pasco, North Franklin, Prosser, Finley, Kiona-Benton City, Paterson, Columbia and Educational Service District 123.
The data, provided by the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, represents a snapshot in time. Employees may have left or had changes in status or pay.
A “base salary” is the minimum agreed-upon annual pay that an employee receives, while the “total salary” includes any additional pay that they may earn through additional contracts, certifications or incentives.
There are about 90 elementary and secondary school principals working in the Tri-Cities region. Their average base salary was about $153,700 with a total take home pay of about $155,500.
Vice principals, meanwhile, earned about $143,000 on average. Program administrators based in schools and in district offices earned about $155,000.
Various directors and supervisors — which includes leaders in legal services, transportation and maintenance services — earned around $101,200 in salaries.
Superintendents are hired by school boards to serve as their district’s chief executive. They are responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the district, its staff, monitoring student progress and providing leadership, among other duties.
Here are the base salaries for each superintendent in the Tri-Cities area, according to OSPI’s 2023-24 data:
- Steve McCullough, ESD 123: $269,600.
- Shelley Redinger, Richland: $217,600.
- Michelle Whitney, Pasco: $215,500.
- James Jacob, North Franklin: $188,300.
- Traci Pierce, Kennewick: $188,300.
- Kim Casey, Prosser: $180,000.
- Todd Hilberg, Columbia (Walla Walla): $177,400.
- Bryan Long, Finley: $155,000.
- Pete Peterson, Kiona-Benton City: $148,300.
- Joe West, Paterson: $130,000.
State Superintendent Chris Reykdal, who was elected to oversee the education of more than 1 million public school students across Washington, earned a salary of about $161,900 last year.
