R-IV admins, directors pay totals $1.1 million

Spending on salaries at the Willow Springs R-IV School District has been under a microscope since the district announced in early August a critically low reserve balance of funds. As the community reacted, administrator salaries in the district became a talking point immediately. 

 

The focus on district’s spending problems at the Aug. 11 school board meeting centered on salaries. During the meeting, School Board President Mac Gum said salaries are the most significant portion of the district’s spending. This is true in most school districts. In the same meeting, board Vice President Matt Hobson summarized, "We overspent, and the biggest culprit is staffing.”

 

Personnel costs will remain largely the same in fiscal year 26, Hobson confirmed when he continued, "We're locked in where we're at on what it will cost to operate this year."

 

Though the full picture of personnel spending, as well as which and how many jobs will be cut, remains unclear, the district has released salary information on their administrators and directors. Records requests for the remaining district employees’ pay are pending. 

 

As previously reported by Howell County News, salaries for the district’s 14 administrators and directors total $1.1 million a year, about seven percent of the district’s overall budget. All administrators and directors will remain on the payroll throughout the 2025-2026 school year because of contracts offered in 2025.

 

See Fig. 1 for information received from school officials reporting administrator and director pay. In addition to the salaries and extra duty pay reported, the district incurs an additional $7,198.20 expense per person for life and health insurance benefits. 

 

The amount each administrator is paid roughly compares to other districts in the area, but the total number of administrators and directors in Willow Springs is higher than anywhere else surveyed. According to a list provided by Dr. Marty Spence, the district has 14 administrators and directors. The seven district directors have a combined salary expense of more than $463,000.

 

See Fig. 2 for comparisons of area administrator pay, using information available from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and sizes of administrations obtained by telephone inquiry to each of the surveyed districts. 

 

In the News’ ongoing investigation into school district spending, administrator and director salaries have not been drastically over budget, unlike spending for certified employees. The average teacher salary in Willow Springs is $43,786, according to DESE. Statewide, the minimum teacher salary is $40,000, and the district’s teacher salary schedule tops out at $56,002 for a teacher with a Ph. D and 21 years of experience. 

 

The school board is, “reviewing all staffing structures, including administration, to ensure responsible resource allocation," said board representatives in and email to the News.