Out of over 25,500 Montgomery County Public School employees, 19 made salaries over $200,000 in 2022, according to salary data obtained by MoCo360 through a Maryland Public Information Act request. All 19 of those employees work in the district’s central office.
Superintendent Monifa McKnight topped the list with a $320,000 salary—an increase of $25,000 from her salary as interim superintendent the previous year. McKnight is also entitled to receive $48,000 a year in deferred compensation, according to her contract, and may receive additional salary raises pursuant to annual performance reviews by the school board.
Her predecessor, Superintendent Jack Smith, received an annual salary of $295,000 at the time of his retirement in June 2021. He declined a scheduled $25,000 raise the previous year, citing the district’s fiscal crunch caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As superintendent of Maryland’s largest school district—serving over 160,000 students—McKnight makes well over $15,000 more than neighboring jurisdictions. Prince George’s County pays its top school official—Chief Executive Officer Monica Goldson—an annual salary of $302,000 pursuant to her four-year contract. Anne Arundel County‘s school superintendent receives $305,000 annually, while Howard County’s gets $290,743 and Baltimore County’s gets $290,000.
The top 20 salaries within MCPS are listed as follows:
- Superintendent Monifa McKnight – $320,000
- Deputy Superintendent Patrick Murphy – $255,013
- Chief Operating Officer Michael Hull – $255,013
- Board of Education Chief of Staff Lori-Chris Webb – $226,544
- Chief of School Support and Well-Being Ruschelle Reuben – $226,244
- Chief Academic Officer Peggy Pugh – $226,244
- Office of District Operations Dana Edwards – $226,244
- Chief of Strategic Initiatives Stephanie Sheron – $226,244
- Chief of Staff Brian Stockton – $226,244
- General Counsel Stephanie Williams – $219,240
- Assistant Chief of Communications Celia Fischer – $219,240
- Medical Officer Patricia Kapunan – $219,240
- Associate Superintendent of School Support and Well-Being Rotunda Floyd-Cooper – $204,852
- Associate Superintendent of Curriculum and Instructional Programs Niki Hazel – $204,852
- Associate Superintendent of Well-Being, Learning, and Achievement Damon Monteleone – $204,852
- Associate Superintendent of School Support and Well-Being Peter Moran – $204,852
- Associate Superintendent of School Support and Well-Being Diane Morris – $204,852
- Associate Superintendent of Finance Robert Reilly – $204,852
- Acting Associate Superintendent of Special Education Diana Wyles – $204,852
- Principal of Col. Zadok Magruder High School Leroy Evans – $187,465