Only Coatesville has a lower starting salary for teachers than WCASD.
According to the PSEA website, the WCASD starting salary for teachers is $46,000, which is slightly higher than the lowest paying district, Coatesville, at $44,931. (The PSEA website is incorrect, see this blog post for the actual number.)
But since the union is the one negotiating salaries for teachers, we will use their numbers for sake of argument.
WCASD has a lower starting salary than Philadelphia, Upper Darby . . . turns out that WCASD has a lower starting salary than ALL DISTRICTS IN CHESTER AND DELAWARE COUNTIES except for Coatesville and Chester Upland.
To put it differently, out of the 28 districts shown in the graphics below, 26 districts pay a higher starting salary than WCASD.
But how do our administrator salaries compare?
You can view the top salaries here. Spoiler alert: no teachers are on the list.
Our former superintendent (Scanlon) was the 5th highest paid superintendent in the state, making nearly $300,000 including perks and stipends.
Our other former superintendent (Sokolowski) is no longer employed by the district but he will continue to earn his salary for all of 2023. His contract is no longer available on the WCASD website but you can view that info here. He will earn $240,000 this year even though he is no longer employed.
Our current superintendent earns $190,000 annually (with the option to earn more based on performance.)
Our Director of Equity is earning $700/day which translates to roughly $140,000 for a 10 month contract.
Principals earn from $133,000 to $185,000 annually.
Why is there such a disparity between how little teachers earn compared to how much administrators earn?
As of right now, in 2023, according to the most recent salary scale negotiated by the union, the ONLY WAY for a teacher to earn over $100,000 annually is for the teacher to have worked for 15 years AND ALSO to have a Master's Degree PLUS 30 additional college credits. Yet administrators routinely earn well over $100,000.
Teachers: is the union really working for you?
