How Bucks County superintendents' pay compares to rest of Pa.

School districts in the Philadelphia suburbs are home to some of the highest-paid top school administrators in the state.

According to a review of financial data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, about half of the superintendents in Bucks County's 13 school districts — plus the Abington, Hatboro-Horsham, Lower Moreland Township and Upper Moreland Township school districts in Montgomery County — ranked in the top 50 salaries in the state.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education released its annual individual salary reports for public school teachers and administrators across the state in May.

Superintendents in those school districts have an average salary of $223,663, which is about $58,107 more than the statewide average superintendent salary.

The data for the 2023-2024 school year is a "snapshot" of information collected last October. The data might not reflect the current salaries of some administrators and some superintendents may have left their school districts, changed positions or retired since the data was collected.

Central Bucks officialy hired Superintendent Steven Yanni earlier this year at a starting salary of $275,000 for a 260-day work year, according to a copy of the proposed employment contract. Yanni replaces former Superintendent Abram Lucabaugh, who was the third-highest-paid superintendent in the state before a controversial exit last November.

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Current Pennridge Superintendent Angelo Berrios was officially hired last August, in a three-year contract starting at $210,000 a year, to replace former Superintendent David Bolton, whose last day was Oct. 31, 2023 — which was after the state would have collected its salary data.

Quakertown Community School District officials also voted 6-3 giving Superintendent Matthew Friedman a 7% raise to $208,578 a year at the board's Aug. 5 meeting.

A look at admin salaries in 2023:Bucks County superintendents among highest paid in PA. Here's what your district pays

Here's a list of the highest paid superintendents in the area, their school districts, salaries, where they rank in the state and how many years they have worked in education:

1. Abram M. Lucabaugh.District: Central Bucks School District, Bucks County.Salary: $315,000, third-highest in the state (left district late last year).Years in education: 29.
2. Jeffrey S. FecherDistrict: Abington School District, Montgomery County.Salary: $255,000, 19th-highest (tied) in the state.Years in education: 28.
3. Scott T. EveslageDistrict: Hatboro-Horsham School District, Montgomery County.Salary: $255,000, 19th-highest (tied) in the state.Years in education: 25.
4. Scott A. DavidheiserDistrict: Lower Moreland Township School District, Montgomery County.Salary: $245,000, 30th-highest in the state.Years in education: 26.
5. Charles William LentzDistrict: New Hope-Solebury School District, Bucks County.Salary: $232,109, 38th-highest in the state.Years in education: 30.
6. Susan ElliottDistrict: Upper Moreland Township School District, Montgomery County.Salary: $232,100, 39th-highest in the state.Years in education: 31.
7. David A. BoltonDistrict: Pennridge School District, Bucks County.Salary: $230,625, 40th-highest in the state (has since left the district).Years in education: 35.
8. Andrew J. SankoDistrict: Council Rock School District, Bucks County.Salary: $228,800, 45th-highest in the state.Years in education: 34.
9. Dana Tyrone BeddenDistrict: Centennial School District, Bucks County.Salary: $221,599, 50th-highest in the state.Years in education: 31.
10. Thomas SmithDistrict: Pennsbury School District, Bucks County.Salary: $216,348, 61st-highest in the state.Years in education: at least 20 years.
11. Michael NittiDistrict: Bristol Township School District, Bucks County.Salary: $216,300, 62nd-highest in the state.Years in education: 34.
12. Samuel LeeDistrict: Bensalem Township School District, Bucks County.Salary: $210,119, 72nd-highest in the state.Years in education: 43.
13. Matthew FriedmanDistrict: Quakertown Community School District, Bucks County.Salary: $207,000, 77th-highest in the state.Years in education: 20.
14. Bridget T. O'ConnellDistrict: Palisades School District, Bucks County.Salary: $206,973, 78th-highest in the state.Years in education: 27.
15. Jason BowmanDistrict: Neshaminy School District, Bucks County.Salary: $206,000, 80th-highest in the state.Years in education: at least 14 years.
16. Broadus W. DavisDistrict: Bristol Borough School District, Bucks County.Salary: $173,750, 170th-highest in the state.Years in education: 43.
17. Sean HainesDistrict: Morrisville Borough School District, Bucks County.Salary: $150,552, 246th-highest in the stateYears in education: 23.

The years of experience for Bowman and Thomas were altered for this list because the state data appeared to only reflect the years they had been superintendents at Neshaminy and Pennsbury, respectively.

Thomas, who was hired at Pennsbury in 2021, previously worked in New Jersey for more than 15 years. Bowman's LinkedIn page says he worked as an educator in Bensalem for nearly 12 years before moving to Neshaminy a few years ago.

Chris Ullery is the Philadelphia Hub Data Reporter for the USA Today Network. Reach him at cullery@couriertimes.com or find him on Twitter at @ulleryatinell.