Four of the top 11 highest paid superintendents in Washington are in South King County school districts.
The four districts are Renton, Auburn, Kent and Federal Way. Renton Superintendent Damien Pattenaude’s total final salary for the 2025-2026 school year was the highest at $477,693, according to Washington State Fiscal Information (WSFI)’s preliminary report. He was followed by Auburn’s Alan Spicciati at $417,863; Kent’s Israel Vela at $387,275 and Federal Way’s Danielle Pfeiffer at $371,849.
Superintendent salaries are historically based on the district’s size, amount of experience the superintendent has, cost of living for the area and competitive wages. Only one out of the five largest school district superintendents are among the top-five highest earners.
The top 20 highest-paid superintendents in the state average $389,562 annually, according to WSFI. Final salary figures may vary when supplemental contracts or additional payments are reported in October.
Superintendents function as the chief executive officers of their school district, according to the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).
According to WSFI, the listed salaries represent the total final salary of the individual and do not include insurance benefits or mandatory payroll costs.
The personnel reporting guide that WSFI uses states that this total final salary “should reflect the current school year final gross pay for each employee reported. For the purpose of S-275 reporting, the term salary includes salary (daily, weekly, monthly, or annual), wages (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or annual), and any other compensation recognized as income by the IRS and not reported as benefits.”
Snoqualmie Valley School District provided context for understanding superintendent salaries.
“As with all superintendent contracts in Washington, the compensation is established through a public process, and the employment contract is a public record,” according to a Snoqualmie Valley School District statement.
Pattenaude, of the Renton School District, is the highest paid superintendent in the state with a total salary of $477,693 in the 2025-26 school year. In 2020-21 Pattenaude made $372,446. His annual total salary increased by $105,247 in the last five years.
Renton School District commented on the reasons for Pattenaude’s salary increase.
“Superintendent Pattenaude’s salary increase was due, in part, to annual increases based on the Implicit Price Deflator (IPD), as well as a provision included in his original employment contract that granted him a 9-month sabbatical after seven years of service.” according to a Renton School District statement. “However, due to operational needs and mutual agreement, both parties agreed to eliminate the paid sabbatical and instead provided compensation equivalent to the value of the leave spread out over multiple years.”
Pattenaude is entering his 10th year in the role.
“We are grateful for his dedication and leadership over the last decade,” according to the Renton School District.
Lake Washington Superintendent Jonathon Holmen, based in Redmond, ranks as the second highest paid. His annual salary for the 2025-26 school year was $466,401.
“Lake Washington School District (LWSD) is the second-largest school district in the state of Washington, serving over 30,000 students in preschool through age 22. LWSD has a staff of about 5,000 making it one of the largest employers in the city of Redmond,” according to a LWSD statement.
The following three highest paid superintendents are for the Issaquah, Snohomish and Auburn school districts. The annual salaries for superintendents in these three districts were $440,479, $419,358 and $417,863, respectively.
“The superintendent’s employment contract, compensation and evaluation are approved by the school board,” according to a Issaquah School District statement. “We don’t have any additional comment regarding the superintendent’s compensation.”
The salaries are not correlated with the size of the school districts that the superintendent is operating in.
The five largest school districts in the state are Seattle Public Schools, Lake Washington School District, Spokane School District, Tacoma School District and Kent School District.
Only one (Lake Washington) out of the five largest school districts in the state have a superintendent appearing in the top-five highest earners.
Seattle Public Schools, the largest school district in the state at 50,770 students, has its superintendent at the 29th highest paid, in terms of total salary.
In comparison to the highest paid superintendent in the state, Pattenaude for Renton, serves 15,081 students.
To compare, the average annual salary for the top 20 highest-paid superintendents is more than the annual salary for Gov. Bob Ferguson. Ferguson received a 7% raise on July 1, increasing his pay to $234,275 a year. The average salary of the top 20 highest-paid superintendents make $155,287 more than that.
Total salaries
(Across King County)
• Damien Pattenaude, Renton, $477,693
• Jon Holmen, Lake Washington, $466,401
• Heather Tow-Yick, Issaquah, $440,479
• Alan Spicciati, Auburn, $417,863
• Justin Irish, Northshore (Bothell), $416,526
• Israel Vela, Kent, $387,275
• Dani Pfeiffer, Federal Way, $371,849
• Susana Reyes, Shoreline, $363,099
• Daniel Schlotfeldt, Snoqualmie Valley, $333,989
• Susan Leach, Riverview (Duvall), $332,630
• Ginger Callison, Tahoma, $330,000
• Ben Shuldiner, Seattle, $322,102
• Fred Rundle, Mercer Island, $278,059
• Mark Wenzel, Enumclaw, $237,588
Base salary operates differently in comparison to total final salary for superintendents in Washington state. A superintendent’s base salary does not include additional responsibilities that are not outlined in the employee’s base contract. For example, these responsibilities may include additional days or time, according to WSPI.
The highest-paid superintendent in Washington when looking at base salary is Tacoma Superintendent Josh Garcia. Garcia’s base salary in the year of 2025-26 was $432,781. His total final salary was $390,010. Unlike the superintendents that Garcia is in comparison to, his total full-time equivalent (FTE) was 0.9, and not 1.00. This most likely accounts for his decrease from base to total salary.
The superintendent with the second highest base salary in this year was Northshore Superintendent Justin Irish at $389,019.
Base salaries
(Across King County)
• Justin Irish, Northshore (Bothell), $389,019
• Heather Tow-Yick, Issaquah, $365,949
• Israel Vela, Kent, $355,000
• Susana Reyes, Shoreline, $351,699
• Jon Holmen, Lake Washington (Redmond), $350,000
• Dani Pfeiffer, Federal Way, $340,624
• Damien Pattenaude, Renton, $336,198
• Alan Spicciati, Auburn, $328,013
• Ginger Callison, Tahoma, $325,000
• Daniel Schlotfeldt, Snoqualmie Valley, $321,989
• Ben Shuldiner, Seattle, $320,352
• Susan Leach, Riverview (Duvall), $301,981
• Fred Rundle, Mercer Island, $272,559
• Mark Wenzel, Enumclaw School District, $237,588
Riverview School District’s superintendent, based in Duvall, is 26th highest paid in terms of base salary and commented on the responsibilities of the position.
“Superintendent compensation is set by the district’s publicly elected Board of Directors, which views the position as equivalent to a chief executive officer of the largest organization and employer in the community, responsible for the education and safety of thousands of students, hundreds of employees, and a multimillion-dollar public budget,” according to a Riverview School District statement.
Superintendents are appointed by their school district’s elected school board. Superintendents are paid by their public school district through a combination of state funding, local property taxes and federal funds.
All districts were contacted for comment. Auburn School District, Northshore School District and Tahoma School District declined to comment. All other districts not quoted in the article ignored our request.
