Editorial: Does anyone want to be a school superintendent?

Why do you need a school superintendent?

The job might seem hard to understand for some taxpayers.

Teachers? That one makes sense. They’re the people in the room with the students, opening their eyes to reading and math and science. Principal? That’s the person in charge of a school — the manager who coordinates things to make the whole building function. Secretaries, nurses, janitors all have roles that are easy to identify.

But superintendent? It’s a little harder to nail down other than just being the person in charge — or are they?

Look at a school district as a company and the superintendent as the CEO. All the other managers report to the superintendent or take their directions from that person at the top.

It sounds like a pretty good gig. Not only does it have the promise of job security because schools aren’t going anywhere, but superintendents also are the people getting the good paycheck. Unlike universities where the football or basketball coach’s salary might dwarf the president’s, it’s rare to find someone in a school district making more than the superintendent.

And those salaries are rising. In Allegheny County, Pittsburgh Public Schools pays $260,000. In Westmoreland, the top pay is $215,000 at Franklin Regional. Even the lowest paid in both counties (East Allegheny and Monessen City, respectively) still are over $115,000.

But the job is less aspirational than it once was. Where dozens used to vie for an open position, now it’s just a handful of applicants.

Why?

Let’s think about what the job demands. First, there are the constant testing demands, which make meeting metrics more important than actually educating. That might be hard for someone who started as a classroom teacher.

Then there is the fact the superintendent might be seen as the leader of a school district, but it’s not exactly the case. The superintendent carries out the wishes and policies of the elected school board, within the framework of what is allowed by state and federal requirements.

And then there are the politics of being the organization’s face. Even before the book bans of recent years and the pandemic-protocol protests of 2020 and 2021, superintendents could be the focus of public ire when an unpopular policy was considered. The big paycheck is another factor that can make the public bristle.

So why would anyone want this job? In 2000, there already were stories about the decline in superintendent supply. It hasn’t gotten better. Last week Hempfield, Norwin and Shaler Area school districts saw superintendents resign. Leechburg Area’s leader stepped down days before Christmas to take an assistant superintendent job at Penn-Trafford for more money.

The job is at the hub between teachers, parents, elected officials, state regulation and the public. It’s built for unpopularity and conflict, but it’s also a necessary position. Someone has to run the show. Superintendents, for example, are the only ones who can decide when to cancel school for a snow day.

But making it so unpopular reduces the number of applicants, which drives paychecks even higher. People on all sides of the issue need to think about just how untenable they are making a job they really need someone to do.