State of the Superintendency
Performance Incentives
School Administrator, December 2015


Slightly more female superintendents have financial incentives connected to their performance in their contracts with their school boards than their male colleagues. Overall, just one in six superintendents holds such contractual provisions.

When considering district enrollment, few of the leaders of the smallest school districts were offered performance-based incentives by their school boards, while more than one in four of the largest districts carried a defined provision providing a reward for accomplishing a predetermined task or objective.


Source: “2014 AASA Superintendents Salary and Benefits Study” published by AASA. Analysis was constructed by Leslie A. Finnan, Robert S. McCord, Christopher C. Stream, George G. Petersen and Noelle M. Ellerson. The full study is available at www.aasa.org.