It’s official.
Joshua Starr will sign an employment contract this morning to become the new superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools beginning July 1. The Montgomery County Board of Education on Tuesday approved a four-year contract for Starr at an annual salary of $250,000 plus health, disability and life insurance, moving expenses and the use of a vehicle. He’ll also get $35,000 in deferred compensation and a contribution of $18,750 toward his retirement.
Starr’s base salary is $33,500 more than that of Jerry Weast, the current MCPS superintendent who is retiring after 12 years as MCPS superintendent. Weast’s current base salary is $216,500, but the exact total of his compensation package—including benefits and deferred compensation was not available, according to MCPS spokesman Dana Tofig.
Sources say it’s probably “north of $400,000.”
The total of the compensation package for Starr, the current superintendent of schools in Stamford, Conn., will depend on what options he chooses, Tofig said. He noted that the contracts for Weast and Starr are “structured very differently.”
In Stamford, Starr earned a base salary of $217,141 last year, according to an April report in the Stamford Advocate.
The Montgomery County school board conditionally appointed Starr on April 25, pending contract negotiations and approval by state Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick, who has certified Starr’s credentials.
