How much the five superintendents of school districts in Shawnee County are paid

Topeka has the sixth largest school district Kansas and the highest paid superintendent in Shawnee County.

Topeka Public Schools superintendent Tiffany Anderson is the highest paid superintendent out of five school districts in the county. She is one of the highest paid in the state, making $248,000.

"It is a tremendous privilege to serve as the superintendent of the 6th largest district in Kansas responsible for over a 260 million dollar budget that ensures we serve the most vulnerable members of our community to the best of our ability by providing leadership to ensure we offer critical services that include, but are not limited to; offering the only prek-12th grade dual language program in the state, ensuring our comprehensive high schools which have over 1,000 students enrolled have resources to ensure over 90% of their students graduate and enter colleges and careers,  and providing families with early childhood support through our expansion of preschools in almost every elementary school as some of the many services we provide to our community," Anderson said in a written statement.

"I remain grateful to serve a community and school board that values investing in the various resources that impact families across Topeka."

Here are the superintendent salaries for each of the Shawnee County school districts.

Topeka Public Schools USD 501

Tiffany Anderson started working for Topeka USD 501 as its superintendent in 2016 after working as a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent earlier in her career for other districts. She recently released a research book about equity in education titled "Building Parent Capacity in High Poverty Schools: Actions for Authentic Impact."

Topeka Public Schools is the largest district with 15 elementary schools, six middle schools and three high schools. There is also the College Prep Academy, the Topeka Center for Advanced Learning & Careers, Topeka Virtual, and such alternative schools as Hope Street, Avondale and Capital City within the district's purview.

Anderson's salary aligns with the biggest districts' superintendent pay, said Aarion Gray, general director of instructional services.

"The district serves over 2,000 staff members and over 12,000 students in Magnet, Signature, and STEAM schools, which is more schools and students with greater ethnic and socioeconomic diversity than all of the other county school districts combined," Gray said in a written statement. "Topeka Public Schools strives to remain competitive as the district has offered the highest teacher starting salary in the county."

Silver Lake USD 372

Brad Womack started his career in education in 1996. He taught math for two years at USD 454 Burlingame and one year at USD 437 Auburn-Washburn. He then taught high school mathematics in Silver Lake from 1999 through 2009 and moved from a teacher to assistant principal/athletic director for one year before taking the head principal position at Silver Lake Jr/Sr High School in 2010 until 2021.

In 2021, he was named superintendent.

He was paid $134,550 for the 2023-2024 school year, district treasurer Debbie Walburn said. This makes him the lowest paid superintendent in the county.

Silver Lake USD 372 has three schools under its purview, an elementary school, a middle school and a high school.

Shawnee Heights USD 450

Shawnee Heights USD 450 superintendent Sheila Meggers was hired in February and began work at the beginning of July.

She is the newest superintendent in Shawnee County. Before she took this position, she previously worked as an assistant finance superintendent for USD 308, along with working as principal of Garden Plain Elementary School at Renwick USD 267 in Sedgwick County.

Her annual salary will be $190,000, director of business and finance and school board clerk Sara Darting said.

Shawnee Heights has six schools in its district.

Auburn-Washburn USD 437

Scott McWilliams has worked as the Auburn-Washburn USD 437 superintendent for nine years. Before, he held an 11-year tenure with the Blue Valley School District as the executive director of human resources.

McWilliams annual salary is $235,000, said communications director Jessica Roberts. He is the second highest paid superintendent in the county.

Auburn-Washburn has 11 schools in its district.

Seaman USD 345

Bradley Willson has worked as the Seaman USD 345 superintendent since 2022. Before taking the Seaman USD 345 superintendent position, he served as an assistant superintendent at Spring Hill USD 230 for seven years and before that worked as the human resources director for the same district.

Willson's salary is $182,000, communications director Candace LeDuc said.

Seaman USD 345 has nine schools under its purview.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: How much the five superintendents of school districts in Shawnee County are paid