From left: Joe Gothard and Pedro Martinez.
The retirement benefits for Gothard, left, top what Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez receives. The Chicago school district is more than 12 times larger than Madison's.
The benefits package for Madison’s new superintendent rivals those in larger school districts, including Chicago Public Schools.
According to Joe Gothard’s contract, passed unanimously by the school board Feb. 27, the district will pay $25,000 plus 6.9% of his annual $299,000 salary each year into a 403(b) retirement account, and 6.9% of his salary into his pension through the Wisconsin Retirement System. Together Gothard will receive about $65,000 in retirement benefits in his first year.
Providing supplemental retirement accounts like a 403(b) plan is not unusual, but the deals are getting sweeter, according to a 2022 examination of big-city superintendent contracts by Education Week: “Now some districts are making greater contributions, giving superintendents more control over how the plans are set up, or tying this benefit to longevity” to keep superintendents around longer.
Chicago Public Schools contributes 10% of CEO Pedro Martinez’ $340,000 salary into a supplemental retirement account each year, in addition to his pension plan, according to reporting by Chalkbeat Chicago. Those benefits totaled about $58,000 in Martinez’s first year, in 2022. Madison’s school district has about 25,000 students; Chicago’s has more than 320,000.
Gothard’s current employer, Saint Paul Public Schools, contributes $19,000 per year into a 403(b) account for Gothard, who currently earns $256,000 as superintendent of SPPS.
According to a 2023 Pioneer Press report, a parent who served on the St. Paul school district’s budget finance committee told a Minnesota legislative commission that the district’s 403(b) contribution to Gothard was so generous it ran afoul of a Minnesota state law limiting supplemental retirement contributions. A district spokesperson said the contract was in compliance with the statute without specifying what part of the parent’s analysis they disputed, according to the Press.
Broward County Public Schools in Florida agreed to contribute 7% of former superintendent Vickie Cartwright’s $350,000 salary into a 403(b) account as part of her 2022 contract, according to the Education Week report. In Oakland, California, the district arranged to pay progressively larger shares of the maximum 403(b) contribution each year for its superintendent in addition to a longevity bonus.
