18 Providence School Dept. Executives: Average Salary $157,000+
GoLocalProv News Team
18 Providence School Dept. Executives: Average Salary $157,000+
Providence Schools are ranked among the worst performing in the country, and as a result, under state oversight, the Providence School Department has been revamped — new superintendent and senior staff.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Department has been under fire in the past week for the handling of the announcement of the closing of multiple schools across the city. The latest development has been criticized by elected officials, parents, and the Providence Teachers Union.
On Thursday night, the House Oversight Committee fired questions at the top Providence School Department administrators about the condition of the school system and the mismanaged announcement of school closures. Chair of the Committee, Patricia Serpa (District 27, West Warwick), said during the hearing to Providence School Department officials, "you created this crisis."
The Providence School Department executive suite has a head count of 18 executives — and they are well-paid. The information was secured by GoLocal through an Access to Public Records Act request filed on December 2, 2022.
The average salary for the senior staff in the superintendent's office is more than $157,000, not including benefits — health and dental. The cost of these benefits for the school system for these executive's families is just under $20,000.
The lowest-paid of these members of the senior staff in the superintendent's office is more than $137,000. The highest paid is Superintendent Javier Montañez, who receives a salary of $206,000, a car allowance of $7,800 as well as health and dental. His package totals nearly $240,000 annually.
Each of the staff receives Blue Cross Blue Shield benefits paid for by the city at a cost of $6,825 for Individuals to $18,223.92 for family plans, as well as Delta Dental plans of $329.54 for individuals to $1,015 for families at city expense.
"The Commissioner and [administrator] Zack Scott told the House Oversight Committee they streamlined Central Office by 30%," said Providence Teachers Union President Maribeth Calabro. "They failed to say that it was clerks and teachers that were impacted -- not the [administrators]." The headcount went down the average salary dramatically increased.
Read About Providence Schools Having a Communications Department Larger than the Governor's Staff.
SEE THE SALARIES OF THE ADMINISTRATORS BELOW
In contrast, in Providence, the median family income of a family with children under the age of 18 is $50,393, according to Kids Count.
Providence ranks second in the state with the highest percentage of children in poverty.
"First of all, if you are earning a salary over $100,000 a year — I don’t have a problem with what you earn," said Pilar McCloud, a member of incoming Mayor Brett Smiley's transition team and a former board member of the Providence Chapter of the NAACP, who has been a vocal critic of the Providence School Department under the state takeover.
"However, if you’re earning it off the backs of Black and Brown and indigenous and marginalized communities, and they’re not getting what you say you’re giving them, it's as if you've invited me to your house and you have plates of food for you and your family, and I have none," McCloud continued. "They haven’t fed educationally the families of Providence. So tell me, how do you justify what you earn."
"It Is Not Hard to Spend Other People's Money"
Former Rhode Island Director of Administration Gary Sasse tells GoLocal, "Four factors should be considered in setting the compensation for Providence school administrators and support personnel. The first is to benchmark the job to market conditions. Second is a rigorous performance evaluation. Third, the value that the position contributes to the overall mission of the school department. Fourth, taxpayers' ability to pay for support positions. For example, in an urban school system with finite resources, professionals who impact student progress should be given priority."
"It is extremely difficult to assess salary proposal in the Providence School System because the state has taken over responsibility for the schools, but not for raising local property taxes to fund new positions or increased compensation for administrative personnel. This raises concerns about accountability when personnel costs are growing. Never forget it is not hard to spend other people’s money," added Sasse.
Providence Public School Executive Staff and Salaries DEC 2022
Dr. Evonne S. Alvarez
Chief Academic Officer
Salary: $164,439.39
As PPSD’s Chief Academic Officer, Evonne is responsible for the strategic vision for Excellence in Learning in the Turnaround Action Plan, academic programs, curriculum and instruction, and policies impacting student achievement outcomes. She ensures that students receive an education that meets high standards to achieve excellence in learning, setting the course for a culture of high expectations and shared responsibility for equitable access to high-quality instruction and systemic improvement of practice over time in every classroom.
James Boyd, Jr.
Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools
Salary: $154,572.76
The Assistant Superintendent is responsible for driving educational excellence across all secondary schools in the Providence Public School District. The Assistant Superintendent leads the educational performance of the district by establishing a clear vision and strategic direction for instructional leadership, school culture and school improvement initiatives.
Jennifer Carney
Chief Data and Assessment Officer
Salary: $159,506.33
As the Chief Data and Assessment Officer, Jennifer oversees all local and state assessment and survey administration, results, and reporting. Her team provides research, data reporting, and analysis as well as support to guide decision-making for District and school-level systems, school improvement, and community engagement. Jennifer has a background in teaching, instructional coaching, building-level administration, Curriculum Director, and state-level experience in creating and implementing systems for strategic planning and system transformation.
Nick Domings
Chief Communications Officer
Salary: $149,639.52
Nick’s job is to ensure that all PPSD stakeholders receive accurate, timely information about the District. As Chief Communications Officer, he oversees all internal and external communications, manages the District’s website and social media accounts, oversees translation services, helps prepare presentations and talking points for District leadership, and handles all media inquiries. Prior to joining PPSD, Nick was Communications Director for Rhode Island’s Secretary of State, and prior to that he was an Executive Producer at WPRI in Providence.
Jennifer Q. Efflandt
Executive Director of Multilingual Learners
Salary: $137,273.19
Entering her fifth year as the Executive Director of Multilingual Learners for Providence Schools, Jennifer oversees the identification and services of all MLL students in the district. Jennifer uses her own experience as a low income, Multilingual Learner in Providence and the educational discrepancies she has experienced to fuel her drive to help bring education equity to her community. She believes all students, regardless of race, native language, socioeconomic status, citizenship status or disability have a fundamental right to receive a high quality, rigorous education that prepares them to excel in college and their career of choice.
Arzinia Gill
Senior Director of Principal Supports
Salary: $142,075
Arzinia’s job is to support PPSD in rolling out a robust set of professional development, tools, and resources to PPSD principals. As the Senior Director of Principals’ Support, her job is to focus on the areas of supervision, staff development, and performance management. Her role is to provide support in all areas based on school principals' needs. Prior to her current role, Arzinia was a school principal for 8 years of her 21 years in education in PPSD where she also served as a teacher, central office District Assistance Team member supporting district professional development, instruction, development and implementation of curriculum.
Joan Jackson
Senior Advisor to the Superintendent
Salary: $175,270.99
As the Senior Advisor to the Superintendent, Joan provides strategic guidance and support to ensure the successful implementation of the Turnaround Action Plan. Joan oversees the Executive Academic and Student Supports teams to determine programs and policies focused on creating high-quality, equitable, data-driven learning environments for all PPSD students. Joan comes to Providence with 35+ years of experience working in Turnaround schools and districts across the country.
Krystal Lofton
Executive Director of Leadership Development
Salary: $144,706.51
As the Executive Director of Leadership Development, Krystal oversees the district's leadership development plan, which includes the leadership pipeline, training and development opportunities for aspiring, novice, and experienced leaders, school leaders and district-based administrators that is consistent with the vision and mission of the district. Her primary focus is to support leadership development, which includes onboarding, development, retention and career progression of aspiring principals. Krystal has served in various roles in PPSD such as Elementary Transformation Officer, Senior Director of K-12 Literacy & Support and Elementary Director of Instructional Support.
Cory McCarthy
Executive Director of School Improvement
Salary: $144,706.51
As Executive Director of School Improvement, Corey works to ensure students have access to a rigorous, high-quality redesign school model that will support academic success for all learners. The Executive Director will focus on leveraging salient research and data to drive redesign initiatives and monitor deliverables and ensure on grade level learning, equity, and increased student achievement. Cory has a long history of working with urban youth. In his quest to change the societal narrative around underserved, underrepresented students and special populations, Cory has spent over a decade coaching and instructing young men and women to not simply utilize their athletic abilities but to ensure 4-year college placement and graduation. He is also one of the most accomplished basketball coaches of color Massachusetts has ever seen with 5 state titles. Formerly the Chief Equity Officer for the Everett Public Schools, he has also worked in numerous leadership roles as Director of School Culture and Climate, strategic leader of Diversity and Equity & Inclusion, and Vice Principal. Corey continues to advocate for students in all he does.
Javier Montañez
Superintendent
Salary: $206,000 Plus Auto $7,800
Dr. Javier Montañez has dedicated nearly his entire career in education to supporting PPSD students as a teacher, assistant principal and principal. He began his career in Providence as a bilingual teacher at Spaziano Elementary--then known as Laurel Hill Elementary--in 1996. In the nearly 25 years since, he has been promoted multiple times ascending to assistant principal and principal.
Dr. Montañez received a Masters of Education from Rhode Island College and a doctorate in educational leadership from Johnson & Wales University. Under his decade of leadership at Leviton Dual Language, the elementary school has seen significant growth, having gone from being a one- to three-star in the state’s ranking system. Leviton was one of only three schools in the entire state that grew by at least two star levels.
Dr. Nkolika E. Onye
Chief of Equity & Belonging
Salary: $161,428.07
As the Chief of Equity & Belonging, Nkoli defines the overarching vision, identity, and strategy to become a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization both in our central office and across our network of schools and classrooms. This includes: defining an equity identity and lens, and what our vision of success is for applying them to all that we do; partnering with leaders and ensuring that our strategies, designed to achieve our Turnaround Plan, are fully reflective of and inspired by an equity lens, and reflect our equity identity; collaborating with other departments to develop and monitor key performance indicators, and analyze and share internal and external DEB metrics, and organizational culture and practice; monitoring progress toward our DEB vision and achievement of our DEB goals as well as the execution of strategies that map toward those goals.
Salvador Pellerano
Chief Operating Officer
Salary: $144,706.12
Sal’s job is to ensure that all PPSD schools are fully operational and ready for staff and students each year. As Chief Operating Officer, he oversees the District’s school operations (student registration, food services, transportation), student support services, and all facilities related items. Prior to joining PPSD, Sal was a Regional Director of Operations for Achievement First Rhode Island, and prior to that he was a Partnership Manager at The MET High School.
Christopher Petisce
Executive Director of Finance
Salary: $143,259.58
The Executive Director of Finance oversees the Local Budget Department, Non-Local Budget Department (Federal Programs), Purchasing Department, Controllers Department (Accounts Payable, Payroll, Benefits, Fiscal, Asset Management), and Medicaid Department. Chris has been with the district since 2001, all of these years have been spent in the Finance Division.
Patricia Royal, Ed.S.
Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Schools
Salary: $159,506.07
Assistant Superintendent is responsible for driving educational excellence across all elementary schools in Providence Public School District. The Assistant Superintendent successfully initiates, implements, and sustains transformational change to improve student outcomes. The Assistant Superintendent leads the educational performance of the district by establishing a clear vision and strategic direction for instructional leadership, school culture and school improvement initiatives. The Assistant Superintendent will lead efforts to build world-class schools that will provide for powerful, personalized learning that is engaging and joyful for all students and staff. In addition, pursue the district’s goals for diversity, equity and inclusion focusing on ensuring equitable access to high-quality instruction for students closing the achievement and opportunity gap. The Assistant Superintendent will work in close with the various divisions across the organization to improve instructional quality and school cultures with the goal of creating a high-performing learning organization that ensures students will graduate ready for success in college, career and in life.
Zack Scott
Deputy Superintendent of Operations
Salary: $175,271.36
Zack’s job is to oversee the smooth and effective functioning of school and District operations. As Deputy Superintendent of Operations, he oversees the District’s Talent, Finance, and Administration (facilities, food services, transportation, etc.) departments. Prior to joining PPSD, Zack was the Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of Human Resources at Boston Public Schools, and has also held roles in the District of Columbia Public Schools and other education organizations.
Sandra Stuart
Chief Student Support Service Officer
Salary: $166,361.38
Sandra's job is to organize, coordinate, and evaluate student support services ensuring compliance with district, state, and federal policies and regulations. As Chief Student Support Service Officer, she oversees the Office of Multilingual Learners, Office of Specialized Instruction, Office of Early Childhood Education and the Wellness Office. Sandra has served PPSD students and families for over 20 years. Prior to coming to PPSD, she worked in the private educational sector.
Scott Sutherland
Chief of Staff
Salary: $164,439.50
No bio available
Jennifer Vorro
Acting Chief Talent Officer
Salary: $144,265.71
Jennifer is currently in the position of Acting Chief Talent Officer for Providence Schools. She is in her 26th year with the district and has held positions as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, school leader and various leadership positions in the Office of Human Resources. As the Acting Chief Talent Officer she oversees all functions of the Human Resources office including staffing, employee relations, employee services, evaluation, induction, licensure, educational leadership and the professional learning platform.
