Several recently released reports with information about public school staff salaries, student data and revenue deserve some attention.
An article by The 74, a nonprofit news outlet covering the nation’s education, offers an interactive report that can be sorted by state and school district that charts revenue per pupil, average teacher salary, and salary growth over 20 years, from 2002 to 2022.
According to The 74, the following information is shown for north county school districts, as of 2022:
•San Dieguito Union High School District: average teacher salary of $105,978 and revenue per pupil of $17,695 (42% increase from 2002)
•Del Mar Union School District: average teacher salary of $108,291 and revenue per pupil of $21,312 (63% increase from 2002)
•Encinitas Union School District: average teacher salary of $104,551 and revenue per pupil of $17,489 (36% increase from 2002)
•Solana Beach School District: average teacher salary of $101,846 and revenue per pupil of $27,543 (78% increase from 2002)
•Rancho Santa Fe School District: average teacher salary of $94,502 and revenue per pupil of $29,759 (109% increase from 2002)
•Cardiff School District: average teacher salary of $86,957 and revenue per pupil of $25,368 (72% increase from 2002)
•Carlsbad Unified School District: average teacher salary of $84,042 and revenue per pupil of $16,797 (53% increase from 2002)
•Oceanside Unified School District: average teacher salary of $89,808 and revenue per pupil of $18,853 (51% increase from 2002)
Of note is the high teacher salaries reported for San Dieguito, Del Mar, Encinitas and Solana Beach – where the average annual salary exceeds $100,000.
Because the average teacher salary in Del Mar reportedly exceeds San Dieguito’s, I wonder how San Dieguito’s teachers union would react to that, given the controversial insertion of the infamous clause in the SDUHSD certificated contract that says San Dieguito teachers must be the highest paid in the county.
The 74 references the National Center for Education Statistics which indicates that the average annual teacher salary in California in the 2021-2022 school year was $87,275. The NCES data show that this amount represents a decline of -1.7% from 2009-2010 to 2021-2022.
The 74 also notes that, nationally, “average teacher salaries have been remarkably flat for a very long time. In inflation-adjusted , they’ve been hovering around $70,000 for decades.”
One point The 74 makes is that salary increases have not kept up with revenue increases. Several reasons are proposed for this, one is that full-time hirings rose three times as fast as student enrollment, “led by particularly large increases in instructional coordinators, classroom aides and district istrative staff.”
Another reason that may contribute to the disparity is that, in 2004, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “base salaries and wages represented 74% of a teacher’s total compensation package, the rest being a combination of health care benefits, retirement plans and Social Security contributions.”
But The 74 states that since then, “benefits costs, especially on the retirement side, have increased rapidly, eating up a larger and larger share of district budgets.”
Other findings
New data reported April 29, 2025 from the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union, show California’s average teacher starting salary at $58,409 (#2 in nation; DC is #1 at $63,373). The report states that this is about $12,000 higher than the national average starting salary of $46,526.
The NEA data show that California’s average teacher salary of $101,084 is the highest in the nation, is a 6% increase from the previous year’s average salary, and is about $30,000 higher than the nationwide average of $72,030.
California’s per-pupil spending was shown as $18,969 (#17 in nation).
The five states with the highest average teacher salary in 2023-2024 were:
California $101,084, New York $95,615, Massachusetts $92,076, Washington $91,720, District of Columbia $86,663.
The five states with the lowest average teacher salary in 2023-2024 were: Mississippi $53,704, Florida $54,875, Missouri $55,132, West Virginia $55,516, Louisiana $55,911.
Enrollment factors
Enrollment plays a role in revenue, particularly for those districts funded by the state based on average daily attendance.
The elementary districts of Del Mar, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe and Cardiff – all of which feed into San Dieguito — are Basic Aid, which means the majority of funding comes from a high property tax base, revenue that generally exceeds what ADA-funded districts receive from the state.
So, having fewer students means more money per pupil, which is the opposite for ADA districts.
If the decline in enrollment in Encinitas is any indication of trends in neighboring districts, local schools can expect fewer students in coming years – good for some districts, bad for others.
An analysis and enrollment report provided April 8, 2025 to the Encinitas Union School District by Sacramento-based King Consulting found that EUSD enrollment has decreased19.5% in the previous five years.
The report states that EUSD enrollment was as high as 5,829 students in 2003-2004, and dropped to 5,350 in 2017-2018. Current enrollment of the district’s K-6 students is 4,298, according to the report, and a steady decline to 3,973 in 2031-2032 is projected.
Incidentally, I like how Encinitas includes with every relevant agenda action item how it aligns with one or more of the district’s five Local Control and ability Plan goals, particularly if money is being requested for allocation.
If the proposed item doesn’t align with any LCAP goals, I assume it doesn’t see the light of day.
Executive pay
How much money top executives in local school districts receive continues to be a shocker.
To explore this, I ed MaryAnne Nuskin, SDUHSD’s associate superintendent of human resources, to ask for the contracts for her, associate superintendent of education services Bryan Marcus, and associate superintendent of business services Stephen Dickinson.
Although all these high-level contracts should be easily accessible via the district website, Nuskin instead sent me to various board reports from past agendas – rather cumbersome and nearly impossible to find unless you ask for and are given the exact agenda date.
Here’s what Nuskin wrote back: “The contracts for the Associate Superintendent of Human Resources, Associate Superintendent of Education Services, and the Superintendent are available in the June 20, 2024 agenda.” After finding the correct agenda, it’s Items 7E, 7F and 7G, if anyone is interested.
For Nuskin, the item states that the of her agreement are amended to run from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027, with pay of $224,378 as of July 1, 2024.
Marcus’ latest contract, from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027 shows compensation of $229,987.
In addition, more money is awarded for longevity time with the district, which is listed in the Executive Cabinet Salary Schedule approved by the board June 20, 2024, as $3,528 per year at the end of 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years.
Nuskin said in an email that she and Marcus both receive an additional $10,584 annually for longevity at Level 3.
The contract for newly hired Dickinson, at business services, runs from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027, and his annual salary is listed as $272,647, with no longevity.
His salary is higher than his two colleagues, because it is “commensurate with his experience as an associate superintendent of business services,” Nuskin said.
SDUHSD Superintendent Anne Staffieri’s contract online is a first amendment to a contract originally signed May 17, 2023. The amended of employment are from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2028. No salary is shown on the document.
But my records show that Staffieri’s contract, effective July 18, 2023, indicates an annual salary of $350,000 and includes an increase by 2.5% effective July 1, 2024, July 1, 2025 and July 1, 2026. Latest records show she is being paid $358,750.
More salary data
Transparent California is an excellent site to see what every public employee is making in the state.
The latest numbers, though, are only from 2023. Nevertheless, the figures shown at that time for Marcus were $225,117 total pay (not including benefits worth $48,978) and were $224,554 for Nuskin (not including benefits worth $48,870).
Also provided is Staffieri’s salary at her former district, Escondido Union, which in 2023 was recorded as $280,139 – quite a nice bump in pay to move to San Dieguito at a base salary of $350,000. Transparent California further calculated that her total pay with benefits at her former district increased to $367,043.
Of the four local school districts with average teacher salaries exceeding $100,000, Transparent California only provides information for Del Mar and Encinitas for their superintendents (Staffieri at San Dieguito and Jennifer Burks at Solana Beach were hired after the 2023 data were compiled).
Transparent California shows that Del Mar Superintendent Holly McClurg’s base salary was $325,973 ($398,720 with benefits), and Encinitas Superintendent Andree Grey’s base salary was $256,415 ($341,793 with benefits).
Newly hired Solana Beach Superintendent Burks was given a base salary of $253,000 when she began her employment on March 1, 2024. And SDUHSD’s Staffieri, as noted before, is being paid $358,750 according to latest records.
To point out the obvious, Del Mar’s McClurg is paid significantly more than her counterparts at the other local elementary districts. Since she announced her retirement and the board is now seeking her replacement, let’s hope the board dials that salary back to offer candidates something more reasonable, bucking tradition which generally provides an even higher salary than the outgoing superintendent was making.
Pay and enrollment ratios
It’s interesting to see the relationship between the amount paid to the districts’ top executives and total district enrollment, for the four local districts with the highest average teacher salaries.
The California Department of Education website shows total 2024 enrollment at San Dieguito at 12,364, with 18% socioeconomically disadvantaged and 4.5% English learners.
Using the latest data for Staffieri’s base salary of $358,750, that comes to about $29/pupil.
CDE data for Del Mar Union from 2024 shows total enrollment 3,662, with 9.4% socioeconomically disadvantaged and 14.5% English learners.
Using the latest data for McClurg’s base salary of $325,973, that comes to about $89/pupil.
CDE data for Encinitas Union from 2024 shows total enrollment of 4,444, with 18.5% socioeconomically disadvantaged and 8.7% English learners.
Using the latest data for Grey’s base salary of $256,415, that comes to about $58/pupil.
CDE data for Solana Beach from 2024 shows total enrollment of 2,730, with 14.6% socioeconomically disadvantaged and 10.8% English learners.
Using the latest data for Burks’ base salary of $253,000, that comes to about $93/student.
SDUHSD serves students in grades 7-12, while Del Mar, Encinitas and Solana Beach serve students in grades K-6.
These calculations make SDUHSD’s superintendent pay, although highest for local districts, more reasonable when considering the district’s significantly higher total enrollment and the additional challenges that come with overseeing a high school district.
Numbers can reveal quite a bit about how taxpayer money is allocated.
Marsha Sutton is an education writer and opinion columnist and can be reached at [email protected].
Marsha Sutton is a columnist and presents her opinion. Column: Combines reporting, storytelling and commentary to make a point. Unlike reporters, columnists are allowed to include their opinions.
