Superintendents top Onondaga County suburbs’ highest-paid school employees list

Most of the highest-paid school employees in Onondaga County suburbs during the 2024-2025 school year were superintendents, reinforcing a pattern that has held across recent years as districts keep posting six-figure compensation for top administrators.

The local salary lists, compiled from public payroll data, show how sharply superintendent pay stands out in suburban school districts around Syracuse. In 2023-2024, seven of the top 25 highest-paid school employees in Onondaga County suburbs earned more than $200,000, and all seven were superintendents. Syracuse.com has made the salary information searchable, alongside separate public-payroll databases for Syracuse City School District employees and other public employers.

The numbers sit inside a broader state system built to expose administrator pay. New York’s School Administrator Salary Disclosure database traces to Chapter 474 of the Laws of 1996 and Education Law section 1608. The State Education Department says the information is self-reported and unaudited, covers superintendents and other certified administrators, and can include salary, fringe benefits and other compensation such as housing or moving allowances. The department also cautions that the disclosure tracks positions rather than necessarily specific individuals.

Statewide compensation figures show how far the top end has stretched. Empire Center data for fiscal year 2024-25 found 90 educators outside New York City were paid more than $300,000, while 2,005 made more than $200,000, a 19% jump from 1,688 the year before. The highest-paid educator statewide was Henry Grishman of Jericho at $662,478, and the highest-paid upstate educator listed was Patrick Jensen of Southern Cayuga at $403,116.

For Onondaga County readers, the suburban rankings are more than a payroll curiosity. They provide a public ledger for district leadership costs at a time when school spending, tax bills and classroom investment remain under close scrutiny. With administrator pay visible line by line, residents can see how much of the school budget is going to central office leadership and how that compares with the rest of the district workforce.