School principals are among the Montgomery County Public Schools employees with the highest salaries, with some making close to $200,000 per year, according to district data.
MoCo360 obtained the data for fiscal year 2024, which began July 1, 2023, and ends June 30, through a Maryland Public Information Act request.
Principal salaries are based on a pay scale developed through negotiations between school system officials and the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals, the principal and administrator union.
In addition, principals with more experience sit at a higher rung on the ladder, thus earning more than those with fewer years of experience. Also, principals can receive higher wages by securing advanced degrees or by leading high schools, schools with larger student populations or high-poverty schools.
According to the data, the county’s highest-paid principal with an annual salary of $196,713 is Renay Johnson, who has led Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring for 13 years.
In January, Johnson announced she will retire as of July 1 from MCPS after a career spanning 33 years.
The district’s superintendent is paid the highest MCPS salary, according to the data. Former Superintendent Monifa McKnight was slated to make $342,400 in fiscal year 2024 but stepped down in February in the wake of controversy surrounding the district’s mishandling of sexual harassment and bullying complaints against a middle school principal. Former MCPS administrator Monique Felder is serving as interim superintendent.
McKnight’s contract was intended to run until 2026. She received a total of $1.3 million under a separation agreement with the Montgomery County Board of Education. The payment includes legal fees and deferred compensation.
The other high earners in MCPS are the school system’s central office staff who are employed as department chiefs, associate superintendents and legal counsel.
Here are the top 100 salaries of MCPS employees from fiscal year 2024. Some schools might have changed principals since the data was released.