By Joyce Kryszak
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Buffalo, NY – Beginning Monday, Business First rolls out its annual school rankings. First to be evaluated are the region's 100 top performing students. Dubious recognition also goes to the region's 100 highest paid administrators.
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According to analysis by Business First, there are two administrators making more than $200,000 thousand dollars a year. Buffalo Schools Superintendent James Williams is paid roughly $220,000 thousand a year. Howard Smith, the Superintendent for Williamsville Schools, is paid over $206,000. Business First Projects Editor Scott Thomas said there is a correlation between the size of school districts and the number of six figure salaries.
But he said there are high salaries in some small districts, such as Pavillion and Cheektowaga Sloan. In those cases, he said it is because superintendents have been on the job for many years.
This is the second year that the paper has reported the salaries. Thomas said their readers tell them that they want to know about what some believe are unreseasonably high salries. But Thomas said the reporting might not have the effect they are looking for.
He said he has talked with some lower-paid administrators who say they have gotten raises once the salaries are published.
But all that money is producing some results. The paper also listed Western New York's top 100 academic performing students. The top students were spread out among 71 different schools. Megan Baker of Lockport led the winning team. But Thomas said there were no slouches in this group. In addition to exceptional GPAs, all the the students scored high on SATs, and took advanced or college level courses.
Additional rankings of every school and school district will be released throughout this week.