The average salary of principals at the nation’s high schools is $50,512 this year--above the $50,000 mark for the first time, according to the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
And at least one school system is paying a senior-high principal a record $79,400, says nassp.
That school system enrolls between 2,500 and 9,990 students and has an average per-pupil expenditure in excess of $5,000.
The findings come from a national survey of principals’ and assistant principals’ compensation in more than 1,000 school systems conducted by the Educational Research Service.
Salaries for principals and their assistants were boosted by 4.1 to 8.7 percent between 1986-87 and 1987-88, the survey found.
The highest percentage increase was seen among assistant principals in schoolsystems with enrollments ranging from 2,500 to 9,999; their pay averages $35,869, up from $32,995 last year.
Principals of junior high and middle schools are earning an average of $47,078 this year, says nassp, while elementary principals are averaging $43,654.
For the second consecutive year, salaries are highest in the Far West and lowest in the Southeast, the survey found.
Copies of the nassp report are available at a cost of $1 per copy from the nassp Office of Professional Assistance, 1904 Association Drive, Reston, Va., 22091.
