Farmington Superintendent Zurvalec Among Top Paid in Michigan

Editor's Note:  Royal Oak Patch reports that The Mackinac Center has acknowledged some numbers in its superintendent salary database may be incorrect. For instance, the center may have used the wrong numbers when determining the insurance portion for Royal Oak Supt. Shawn Lewis-Lakin. 

While her salary ranks a bit lower, Farmington Public Schools Supt. Susan Zurvalec's total compensation package from the district makes her the fifth highest paid top administrator in Michigan. 

According to a searchable database compiled by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Zurvalec is paid a salary of $180,853, the state's 18th highest, and receives $17,992 in benefits. Those aspects of her compensation reflect voluntary cuts in salary and/or benefits she and other top administrators took in 2011, following negotiated concessions from the school's union workers. 

Zurvalec's $277,867 compensation package includes more than $73,000 in deferred compensation, split between pension and annuity, according to the database. According to budget transparency figures provided on the district's website, her salary in 2011-2012 was $210,513 and her total compensation was $286,994.

Farmington Schools has the state's 17th highest enrollment, with more than 11,700 students. The second largest district, Utica Community Schools, has the state's top paid superintendent, with a total compensation package of more than $300,000. 

Here are the total compensation figures for administrators in neighboring school districts: 

• Bloomfield Hills School District - $259,763 (16th)
• Birmingham City School District - $253,396 (22nd)
• Oakland Intermediate School District - $246,183 (29th)
• Novi Community School District - $233,128 (39th)
• West Bloomfield School District - $230,798 (41st)

The Mackinac Center database includes information on all 606 Michigan districts, including those under an emergency manager and those that have no superintendent.