Exploring School District Leaders’ Salaries in the Houston Area

Have you ever been curious about how much the superintendent of your child’s school district earns? KHOU 11 delved into the yearly salaries of superintendents across the Houston area to provide an insight into this aspect of educational leadership.

It might be a question that has crossed your mind at some point: “How much does the superintendent of my child’s school district make?” Well, you’re in luck because that information is publicly available, and KHOU 11’s sister station, WFAA, has obtained and shared the data for the 2023-2024 school year.

Among the top 20 highest-paid superintendents in the state, a significant number are from the Houston area, with two of them claiming the top spots. The highest-paid superintendent in the state for the said period is John Henry from Cy-Fair ISD, earning $536,775, followed closely by Gregory Poole from Barbers Hill ISD, who earns $477,213.

Here is a rundown of the top 15 highest salaries for superintendents in the Houston area for the 2023-2024 school year, along with their ranking in the state:

• 1. Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Superintendent John Henry: $536,775 (enrollment of 118,470 students)
• 2. Barbers Hill ISD Superintendent Gregory Poole: $477,213 (enrollment of 7,723 students)
• 6. Tomball ISD Superintendent Martha Salazar Zamora: $433,930 (enrollment of 22,273 students)
• 9. Klein ISD Superintendent Jenny McGown: $404,430 (enrollment of 53,093 students)

It’s interesting to note the correlation between salaries and student enrollment, as demonstrated in the chart below:

One standout observation from the data is that the second-highest-paid superintendent in the state, Poole, presides over Barbers Hill ISD, a district with a relatively smaller enrollment of just over 7,700 students.