{"id":2515711,"date":"2025-11-29T15:04:01","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T20:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-new-york-some-school-secretaries-make-six-figures-and-more\/"},"modified":"2025-11-29T15:12:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T20:12:11","slug":"in-new-york-some-school-secretaries-make-six-figures-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-new-york-some-school-secretaries-make-six-figures-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"In New York, some school secretaries make six-figures and more"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fin-new-york-some-school-secretaries-make-six-figures-and-more%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2515711&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article reports that some school secretaries in New York earn six-figure salaries,which is notably high for the position. For example, in the Pocantico Hills Central School District-a small district with about 500 students near New York City-secretaries earn between $130,000 and $190,000 annually, including salary, benefits, and overtime.The highest paid secretary there makes over $110,000 in salary and nearly $80,000 in benefits. Such generous compensation is attributed by district officials to the secretaries&#8217; multiple responsibilities and the desire to reduce turnover.<\/p>\n<p>Similar trends of high staff pay appear in other small New York school districts, like Shelter Island and Bridgehampton, were total compensation for secretarial and administrative staff also reaches six figures. These districts stand out for their very high per-pupil spending, ranging from around $65,000 to over $90,000 annually-amounts comparable to or exceeding private college tuition. Much of the high spending is due not only to salaries but also infrastructure, transportation, and specialized services, which are costlier to provide given the small student populations.<\/p>\n<p>Experts note that the high salaries contribute considerably to the districts&#8217; budget but emphasize multiple factors drive overall spending. Smaller districts face challenges in achieving economies of scale, needing to maintain extensive services irrespective of enrollment size. Regional cost-of-living differences also play a role, as these districts are near New York City or affluent areas, explaining higher compensation compared to upstate districts with lower pay and spending.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">In New York, some school secretaries make six-figures and more<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2412957\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &ndash;&nbsp;Secretaries&nbsp;are well known for&nbsp;earning modest wages, but not the ones who&nbsp;work&nbsp;at Pocantico&nbsp;Hills&nbsp;Central <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/schools\/\">School<\/a> District.&nbsp;At the school district of 500 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/students\/\">students<\/a>&nbsp;outside New York City,&nbsp;secretaries&nbsp;make&nbsp;$130,000 and $190,000&nbsp;a year, an investigation by <em>The Center Square <\/em>found.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The highest paid is&nbsp;Gina L. Downes, a confidential secretary.&nbsp;Her <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/wages\/\">salary<\/a> is&nbsp;$110,538 this school year,&nbsp;and&nbsp;she will receive&nbsp;$79,281&nbsp;in benefits and other payments.&nbsp;Downes, who will complete her 20th&nbsp;year on the job in the spring, has&nbsp;benefited&nbsp;from&nbsp;a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >civil service-based pay&#038;nbsp<\/a>;system, a common feature in&nbsp;the&nbsp;public&nbsp;sector.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/education\/3901811\/texas-officials-establish-turning-point-chapters\/\">Texas officials seek to establish Turning Point chapters<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/education\/3901713\/trump-administration-reinstates-northwestern-universitys-federal-funding-after-reaching-75m-deal\/\">Trump administration reinstates Northwestern University&#8217;s federal funding after reaching $75M deal<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/education\/3898175\/university-of-minnesota-website-alerts-whiteness-pandemic\/\">University of Minnesota website alerts &#8216;Whiteness pandemic&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Another secretary, Annabel Maya,&nbsp;will earn $73,659 plus&nbsp;$56,034 in benefits and overtime.&nbsp;Her tenure began four years ago.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Downes and Maya were&nbsp;among&nbsp;the district&rsquo;s well-compensated employees.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Daniel Linehan, a physical education teacher who started&nbsp;in&nbsp;the district in 1995, will earn a salary of $146,199 and almost $60,000 in other benefits&nbsp;this&nbsp;school year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Michael Vanyo, assistant superintendent for business and operations, will make $240,507 and $53,511 in benefits.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In a phone interview, Vanyo&nbsp;defended the pay packages.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I have very few staff members, so those secretaries are doing multiple&nbsp;jobs, he said. &ldquo;Plus, they tend to&nbsp;stay, because&nbsp;Pocantico Hills is a good place to work and live. I could pay them&nbsp;less,&nbsp;but we would have constant turnover.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Pocantico Hills Central School District, in Westchester County, is not&nbsp;alone in&nbsp;the Empire State in&nbsp;compensating its employees generously. Another&nbsp;district&nbsp;is&nbsp;Shelter Island&nbsp;Union Free School District, a school district of&nbsp;roughly 190&nbsp;students&nbsp;in&nbsp;Suffolk County.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Office assistant Donna Clark&nbsp;will earn $98,792 in salary, benefits, and other payments this school year, while&nbsp;her counterpart,&nbsp;Meghan Lang,&nbsp;will rack up $91,328, according to school district records.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>While Clark&rsquo;s and Lang&rsquo;s&nbsp;secretarial&nbsp;peers&nbsp;in Pocantico Hills earn more, Shelter Island pays its top administrators more.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The district&rsquo;s superintendent, Dr. Brian Doelger, will take home an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/makes-u-s-uncompetitive-funds-favored-industries-friends-analysts-rip-bidens-infrastructure-plan\/\" title=\"Makes U.S. \u2018Uncompetitive,\u2019 Funds \u2018Favored Industries, Friends\u2019: Analysts Rip Biden\u2019s Infrastructure Plan\">eye-popping&#038;nbsp<\/a>;$319,170 in salary, benefits, and other payments this school year.&nbsp;Director of Athletics Todd&nbsp;Gulluscio&nbsp;will&nbsp;receive a total pay package of&nbsp;$189,513.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The school district did not respond to a request for comment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A third school district that rewards employees with generous pay packages is Bridgehampton Union Free School District in Suffolk County, a region known popularly as the Hamptons.<\/p>\n<p>Superintendent Mary T. Kelly will earn a total pay package of $246,291, while two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/berkeley-teachers-union-president-seen-taking-daughter-to-in-person-classes-after-leading-charge-to-keep-schools-closed\/\" title=\"Berkeley Teachers Union President Seen Taking Daughter To In-Person Classes After Leading Charge To Keep Schools Closed\">district staff members<\/a> will make six figures. District clerk Tammy Cavanaugh made $44,318 in salary, benefits, and overtime from July 1 to Nov. 14, a prorated figure that comes out to $118,938 this school year. Brianna Covais, director for pupil personnel services, earned $59,423 in salary, a figure that prorated comes out to $159,480 this school year.<\/p>\n<p>The&nbsp;three&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/teacher-diversity-scheme-gets-federal-funds-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Teacher diversity scheme gets federal funds - Washington Examiner\">school districts&#038;rsquo<\/a>; per-pupil spending&nbsp;was among the highest&nbsp;in New York State&rsquo;s K-12 public school system of&nbsp;2.4 million students, according to state data. Pocantico Hills&nbsp;spent $71,439 per student, while Shelter Island&nbsp;spent&nbsp;$65,959 in the 2023-2024 school year.&nbsp;Both are&nbsp;on&nbsp;the high end of what&nbsp;private&nbsp;four-year colleges charge for tuition.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Bridgehampton spent $92,586&nbsp;for each of its&nbsp;roughly 200&nbsp;pupils in&nbsp;2023-2024. The sum was more than the $90,012 that Pepperdine University, a private Christian school in Malibu, Calif., charged for on-campus tuition.<\/p>\n<p>In&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/new_york\/article_dad44cd9-fcf1-4d7d-98e7-c35023849811.html\">a previous story,<\/a>&nbsp;district staff attributed the high per-pupil costs to infrastructure spending spread over very few students, but additional data obtained by <em>The Center Square<\/em> shows that salaries in those districts are also big budget items.<\/p>\n<p>Zilvinas&nbsp;Silenas, president and CEO of The Empire Center for Public Policy, a non-profit, free-market-oriented think tank, said high salaries help&nbsp;account for&nbsp;the districts&rsquo; high spending.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The&nbsp;median pay for a teacher in Pocantico is $121,703, which is in the top 20&nbsp;percent&nbsp;of school districts with&nbsp;the highest&nbsp;median pay,&rdquo; he noted.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Vanyo, Pocantico Hills&rsquo;&nbsp;assistant&nbsp;superintendent,&nbsp;said&nbsp;the district spends more on other budgetary needs.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is a unique situation,&rdquo; he said in an interview. &ldquo;We&nbsp;are&nbsp;a K-8 school district and pay tuition for our high school students.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Vanyo added&nbsp;that the district&nbsp;pays the costs of&nbsp;its high school students to attend one of three public schools in the area, as well as the textbooks and healthcare of students who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/heres-the-biggest-supreme-court-case-no-ones-talking-about\/\" title=\"Here\u2019s the Biggest Supreme Court Case No One\u2019s Talking About\">attend private high schools<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The typical school district&nbsp;in New York&nbsp;spent&nbsp;$35,095 per pupil in the 2023-2024 school year, according to&nbsp;the state&rsquo;s Department of Education.&nbsp;The figure was&nbsp;the highest&nbsp;nationwide. By contrast, Utah spent&nbsp;roughly $10,000.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Despite&nbsp;New York&rsquo;s&nbsp;high median figure,&nbsp;six school districts spent&nbsp;almost or&nbsp;more than&nbsp;$70,000 per student,&nbsp;double the average.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The top spending district was&nbsp;the Fire&nbsp;Island Unified School District, a small island&nbsp;off the coast of Long Island. It&nbsp;reported spending $132,196&nbsp;for each of its&nbsp;roughly 50&nbsp;students, according to state data.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The second-highest spending district was Bridgehampton Union Free School District in Suffolk County. It spent $92,586&nbsp;for each of its&nbsp;roughly 200&nbsp;pupils in&nbsp;2023-2024.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Two more high-spending districts were in Suffolk County&nbsp;on&nbsp;eastern Long Island. Quogue Union Free School District spent $86,163&nbsp;for each of its&nbsp;roughly 130&nbsp;students, while&nbsp;Amagansett Union Free School District&nbsp;spent&nbsp;$78,916&nbsp;for each of its&nbsp;roughly 120&nbsp;pupils.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>To&nbsp;get a better handle on&nbsp;the districts&rsquo; spending,&nbsp;last month,&nbsp;<em>The Center&nbsp;Square<\/em>&nbsp;submitted&nbsp;requests under&nbsp;New York&rsquo;s Freedom of Information Law&nbsp;for staff salaries at five school districts.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>What the&nbsp;districts&rsquo; responses&nbsp;show is&nbsp;that generous staff pay&nbsp;is&nbsp;only one&nbsp;reason&nbsp;for high spending.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s complex and multi-factorial,&rdquo;&nbsp;Silvenas&nbsp;said&nbsp;in an interview,&nbsp;&ldquo;To&nbsp;be fair to Pocantico Hills School District, there&nbsp;are roughly&nbsp;100 school districts where median teacher pay is even higher.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Consider&nbsp;Scarsdale Unified School District&nbsp;in Westchester County,&nbsp;a&nbsp;district of&nbsp;4,700 students&nbsp;outside New York City. It&nbsp;pays its teachers&nbsp;$156,000 annually, the highest in the state. Yet Scarsdale spent&nbsp;$37,800 per pupil in 2023-204, a&nbsp;figure&nbsp;far below&nbsp;that of Pocantico Hills&rsquo; $71,439.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Silvenas&nbsp;acknowledged that&nbsp;transportation, building upkeep, and classroom materials are key reasons for&nbsp;high spending.&nbsp;Each of the six highest spending school districts in New York has fewer than 500 students, a&nbsp;barrier to economies of scale.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Mary T. Kelly, superintendent of Bridgehampton&rsquo;s school district, said small districts like hers get no breaks from the state.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Bridgehampton offers a full continuum of services &mdash; including Advanced Placement courses, a new Career and Technical Education program, athletics, performing arts, special education, and transportation across a large geographic area &mdash; all of which must be provided regardless of enrollment size,&rdquo; she said in an interview.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>While capital and transportation costs are important,&nbsp;teacher and&nbsp;staff&nbsp;salaries&nbsp;are, too.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Roxbury Central School District in upstate New York had&nbsp;roughly 230&nbsp;students in the 2023-24 school year, a figure&nbsp;less than half that of Pocantico Hills and only 40 fewer than Shelter Island. Yet Roxbury spent less on&nbsp;annual&nbsp;teacher salaries&mdash;$60,517 per teacher, according to&nbsp;The Empire Center.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>That was&nbsp;similar to&nbsp;the $59,449 and $57,673&nbsp;annual&nbsp;salaries of Shelter Island&rsquo;s two office assistants and tens of thousands less than Pocantico Hills&rsquo; two secretaries.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/education\/3901713\/trump-administration-reinstates-northwestern-universitys-federal-funding-after-reaching-75m-deal\/\">TRUMP ADMINISTRATION REINSTATES NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY&rsquo;S FEDERAL FUNDING AFTER REACHING $75M DEAL<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Vanyo rejected the comparison between upstate and downstate school districts.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re twenty-five miles outside New York City,&rdquo; he said in an interview. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s&nbsp;an expensive place to live.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NY school secretaries earn $130K-$190K yearly<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2869,"featured_media":2515712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/school-student-money-collage.jpg?1764426223&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[67921,67922,32120,67919,67920],"class_list":["post-2515711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-education-jobs","tag-high-paying-roles","tag-new-york","tag-school-secretaries","tag-six-figure-salaries"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/school-student-money-collage.jpg?1764426223&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2515711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2515711"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2515711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2515715,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2515711\/revisions\/2515715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2515712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2515711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2515711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2515711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}