Salaries for employees of Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools in 2020 include $322,000 for District Superintendent Ann Levett, and more than 100 senior-level employees each have earnings topping $100,000. Many associate superintendents hold doctoral degrees.

Among those top 100 earners in the district were 44 principals and assistant principals, many of whom hold advanced degrees. Their salaries ranged from $101,000 for Karyta Byers, assistant principal at School of Liberal Studies at Savannah High School, who has since retired, to $175,000 for Peter Ulrich, principal at Tybee Island Maritime Academy.

Some people might no longer be with the schools system and in some instances the amounts include benefits packages.

Also in the list of those 100 top earners were two teachers. The highest paid teacher in 2020 was Mariann Amina, a teacher in the gifted student program, at $106,000; and Ulysses Hawthorne from Beach High School, who earned $104,560. According to the district website, Hawthorne retired at the end of the 2020-21 school year. Amina was a Teacher of the Year finalist in 2014.

ajc.com
icon to expand image

In the Savannah-Chatham Schools Police Department, Chief Terry Enoch earned $133,215; Deputy Chief Aaron Graves earned $112,693 and Capt. Robert Rodriguez earned  $91,671. Annual salaries for officers and other employees of the district police department (including part-time crossing guards) ranged from less than $20,000 to three officers who earned in the $70,000 to $79,999 range.

School nurses, who are licensed practical nurses or registered nurses with bachelor degrees or higher, mostly earned in the $30,000-$50,000 range. Lead nurse Lisa Wilson earned just under $104,000.

The district employs more than 500 bus drivers. The list does not indicate part-time or full-time status, but it shows that 117, or roughly 22%, earned $30,000 up to more than $66,000. Another 199, about 38%, earned $20,000 to $29,999.

In the food services and nutrition departments, Onetha Boneparte, director of school nutrition program, earned $113,500; and five food service administrators earned $42,000 to $59,000. Food service managers (42) earned $20,000 to $42,000 — again the list does not differentiate between full- and part-time — and according to the district website, salary also depends on the number of sites at which an employee works. Food services workers' pay range is mostly in the $20,000 to $29,999 range.

The district employs more than 3,000 teachers. The beginning salary in 2021-22 for a new teacher with a bachelor's degree is $44,880.

School Board President Joe Buck receive $16,000 per year; and each of the eight school board members receive $12,000 per year.

Barbara Augsdorfer is the education and nonprofits reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Reach her at BAugsdorfer@gannett.com or on Twitter @Babs7983.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Salaries of the 100 top Savannah-Chatham Public School employees are greater than $100,000

Featured

The city of Brookhaven's mayor and City Council last week decided to remove the colored panes of glass from the dome of Brookhaven's new City Centre after residents objected to the brightness of the colors, seen here Friday, June 27, 2025. (Reed Williams/AJC)

Credit: Reed Williams/AJC