At Pittsburgh schools, teacher pay surged, but some building operations staff made even more

(Photo illustration by Natasha Vicens/PublicSource)
 
PublicSource’s second annual review of earnings of Pittsburgh Public Schools employees shows a workforce in which overtime and supplemental pay drove big pay bumps and that still lacks the diversity of the student body.
 
 

Overtime pay doubled and more teachers earned more money in Pittsburgh Public Schools [PPS] in 2022. 

According to an analysis of payroll data provided by the district, PPS paid about $277 million in salaries and overtime in that year.

 

Though the median income for the 4,265 salaried and non-salaried employees was around $66,200, 1,121 employees made over $100,000.

Besides the superintendent, employees in the district’s operations department brought home the biggest paychecks — in large part due to overtime, which, in some cases, increased base pay by double or more. 

The district spent at least $17 million in overtime and supplemental pay, nearly twice the amount from the previous year.

Teachers were also a significant contingent of those employees with total earnings over $100,000. Of the 742 teachers hitting that benchmark, 153 earned over $110,000 and the highest-paid teachers earned more than $130,000. In the year prior, about 70 teachers had total earnings earned over $110,000. 

Staffing shortages in custodial, food service, building and trades and secretarial-clerical positions may have resulted in increased overtime for the district’s existing staff. In an email response to questions, a district spokesperson said they are targeting recruitment efforts toward those groups including a sign-on bonus for custodial and food service staff.

How diverse are PPS teachers and other staff members?

The district serves 18,652 students of whom 51% are Black. By contrast, 86% of PPS teachers were White — the same percentage as the previous academic year. 

Seven PPS schools mirrored the student body’s diversity with at least 50% of staff who are Black. 

Four schools, however, employed less than 10% of staff who are Black. 

How much did each employee earn?

The district paid Superintendent Wayne Walters the highest salary at $243,449 — 6% higher than former Superintendent Anthony Hamlet’s salary when he departed. 

Several employees from the central office and the operations department followed the superintendent into earning top salaries in the district. 

Patrick Quirin, a steamfitter foreman with the operations department, was the second-highest paid employee, earning a total of $187,348 — of which $112,641 was overtime and supplemental pay. 

Search the table below to learn how much district administrators, teachers and other staff earned last academic year.

Read entire story here

 

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