We are just one week away from the start of the new school year for a lot of children in San Antonio.
It will mean changes for some students and teachers. Some schools are closing, while others are opening for the first time.
News 4's investigated how much you are paying the leaders of three of the biggest districts in Bexar County.
Summer vacation is almost over and Robert Vasquez's little helper is getting ready to head back to school. She'll be in first grade in the San Antonio Independent School District.
"They're doing more and more for the kids and I noticed that the schools have been improving under their buildings and their teachers," said Robert Vasquez, a parent.
He's noticed changes in the district. The SAISD School Board voted last spring to close six schools this fall to deal with declining enrollment, to improve overall student performance, and save money.
A key person pushing for those changes was the superintendent, Dr. Robert Duron. News 4 filed an open records request for Duron's contract along with the contracts of Dr. John Folks of Northside ISD and Dr. Richard Middleton of North East ISD. Those are the three largest school districts in Bexar County.
When you add up Duron's salary, car allowance and money for a cell phone, we found he makes roughly $263,000.
"I think that's a little bit much," said Vasquez.
News 4 contacted the districts looking to interview the superintendents or their representatives about the contracts.
SAISD sent us a statement saying: "It is sometimes difficult to attract candidates to urban districts because there are many challenges inner-city districts face. The result of [Dr. Duron's] tenure here speaks for themselves."
SAISD goes on to say in Duron's two years here, the district has increased the number of high-performing schools from 25 to 36.
Meantime, the only superintendent to agree to speak with us was Dr. John Folks with Northside.
"I'm very proud of Northside," said Dr. Folks.
NISD is one of the fastest growing school districts in Texas. Five new campuses will open this fall. Folks say he's been pleased with the way the district has been able to keep up with the growth and boost test scores.
"We know because we see the data that our student achievement is improving in all areas, in reading, in math, and in science. We are doing well and we're very proud of that," said Dr. Folks.
News 4 found Folks' salary and car allowance add up to roughly $262,000.
"It's only for him?" laughed Norma Gonzalez, a NISD substitute teacher.
Yet a district spokesman tells News 4 the superintendent's salary is well deserved.
Northside did not want Folks to answer questions about his own pay, but the spokesman tells us Folks oversees 13,000 employees, 110 schools and a billion dollar budget. That makes Northside the second largest governmental employer in Bexar County, behind the U.S. Air Force.
Finally, we found Dr. Richard Middleton of NEISD is the highest paid of the three leaders we looked at.
"I would figure to say, a superintendent especially in the North East Independent School District, over $75,000 maybe," said Robert Wallace, a NEISD parent.
All things considered, Dr. Middleton makes nearly $313,000.
"Oh, my goodness. Wow! That's a lot of money," said Wallace.
NEISD asked school board president Beth Plummer to answer our questions about the superintendent's salary. She says the board is very pleased with the job he is doing.
"We have the largest number of exemplary and recognized schools in Bexar County and we have for the last three years," said Plummer.
She also points out that Middleton is one of the longest serving superintendents in the state. He has been with NEISD for 18 years.
"His leadership and his vision, his knowledge of the past, where we are in the present, and where we need to go is quite frankly priceless," said Plummer.
People in all three school districts have their own ways of measuring success. For Robert Vasquez, a parent, he says it all comes down to what a superintendent is able to do to help children learn. He said that is more important than how much he makes.
News 4 did some research and found that the three superintendents we looked at make roughly the same as their counterparts in districts that have a similar number of students.
To see what every superintendent in San Antonio and the state makes -click here.
