Nearly 90 public school educators outside New York City earned more than $300,000 during the 2024–25 fiscal year, according to newly released data from the Empire Center for Public Policy.
The figures come from salary records posted on SeeThroughNY.net and cover teachers, superintendents, principals, and administrators reported to the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System.
The data show that 90 school district employees received total compensation above $300,000. Statewide, 78,866 educators earned six-figure pay, accounting for nearly one-third of all NYSTRS members. Of those, 2,005 earned more than $200,000, a 19 percent increase from the previous year.
Most six-figure earners worked in downstate suburban districts. About 68 percent were employed on Long Island or in Westchester, Orange, and Rockland counties.
Henry Grishman, a retired superintendent from the Jericho Union Free School District in Nassau County, received the highest total pay at $662,478. That amount exceeded the governor’s salary of $250,000 and was higher than the salary of the state education commissioner. Among upstate districts, Patrick Jensen, who recently retired as superintendent of Southern Cayuga Central School District, topped the list with $403,116.
The Empire Center reported that average compensation for full-time educators statewide reached $97,506, with a median of $90,822. Long Island and the Mid-Hudson region posted the highest averages at $118,591 and $114,801. Western New York led upstate regions at $84,993, while the North Country reported the lowest average at $73,315.
More than 200 school districts averaged over $100,000 in pay for full-time educators. Scarsdale Union Free School District ranked highest, averaging $150,828, with nearly 89 percent of its educators earning more than $100,000. All but five Long Island districts averaged six-figure pay.
The data also include compensation for charter schools, community colleges, and other institutions reporting to NYSTRS. Joyce Brown, president of the Fashion Institute of Technology, received the highest total pay in that group at $782,761.
The Empire Center said the figures reflect gross earnings reported by employers and do not include the cost of benefits such as pensions or health insurance. The organization noted that some compensation includes payments beyond base salary, such as summer instruction and termination pay.
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