With more than a dozen colleges and universities, hundreds of private schools, and even more public schools, education is a big business in Washington. Based on IRS documents and interviews, here’s a sampling of how the different parts of the area’s educational food chain make out financially.
HIGHER EDUCATION
John J. DeGioia, president, Georgetown University, $911,613.
Steven Knapp, president, George Washington University, $985,353.
Cornelius M. Kerwin, president, American University, $760,774.
C. Dan Mote Jr. (retired in August), president, University of Maryland, $498,284.
Alan G. Merten, president, George Mason University, $534,000.
Sidney A. Ribeau, president, Howard University, $307,498.
John Thompson III, men’s basketball coach, Georgetown University, $1,829,757.
Gary Williams, men’s basketball coach, University of Maryland, $1,996,334.
Robert Tobias, distinguished practitioner in residence, Public Administration, American University, $297,323.
Jason M. Zara, associate professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, George Washington University, $109,240.
Ana Urias, food-service worker, George Mason University, $17,000.
PRIVATE SCHOOL HEADS
Marjo Talbott, Maret School, $395,030.
David M. Armstrong, Landon School, $384,766.
F. Robertson Hershey, Episcopal High School, $606,095.
Susanna A. Jones, Holton-Arms School, $387,426.
>> Next: Public Schools
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Michelle Rhee, departing chancellor, DC Public Schools, $275,000.
Jack D. Dale, superintendent, Fairfax County Public Schools, $292,469.
Jerry D. Weast, superintendent, Montgomery County Public Schools, $216,792.
Edgar B. Hatrick, superintendent, Loudoun County Public Schools, $232,680.
Pat Murphy, superintendent, Arlington Public Schools, $195,000.
Morton Sherman, superintendent, Alexandria Public Schools, $240,000.
William R. Hite Jr., superintendent, Prince George’s County Public Schools, $250,000.
Tawana R. Lane, seventh-grade language-arts teacher, Prince George’s County, $59,177.
Adrienne Wright , elementary math, science, and technology teacher, Prince George’s County, $78,800.
Shannon Stewart, ESOL teacher, Beltsville Academy, Beltsville, $63,793.
Margaret Panik, kindergarten teacher’s aide, Fairfax County, $28,069.
Steve Greenburg, third-grade teacher of “gifted and talented,” Fairfax County, $72,810.
Gina Miller, ESOL teacher, Alexandria, $62,112.
Ric Clark, school-bus driver, Prince William County, $27,645.
Eyona Fountain, security officer, DC public schools, $26,700.
High-school principal, DC (median), $108,396.
High-school principal, Montgomery County (median), $146,123.
High-school principal, Fairfax County (median), $110,426.
This article first appeared in the November 2010 issue of The Washingtonian.
Contributing to this article were Marisa M. Kashino, Mary Clare Glover, Zac Farber, Anna Spiegel, Luke Mullins, Mollie Reilly, Elliot Kort, Caitlin Fairchild, Sherri Dalphonse, Emily Leaman, Katie Glueck, Jason Koebler, Cindy Rich, Kate Nerenberg, Denise Kersten Wills, Jack Limpert, Garrett M. Graff, and Ken DeCell.
Sherri Dalphonse joined Washingtonian in 1986 as an editorial intern, and worked her way to the top of the masthead when she was named editor-in-chief in 2022. She oversees the magazine’s editorial staff, and guides the magazine’s stories and direction. She lives in DC.
