BY TOM GANTERT
Northwest Community Schools Superintendent Geoff Bontrager was the highest paid educator in the Jackson County School District in 2020, having a gross pay of $170,371.
Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Beal was the second-highest paid educator at $169,401 and Western Public Schools Superintendent Michael Smajda was the third-highest paid at $159,500 in 2020.
There were 61 people working within the Jackson County school district that made $100,000 or more in 2020. That school district area includes 12 traditional public school districts.
Manchester Community Schools, East Jackson Community Schools, Concord Community Schools and Springport Public Schools didn’t have an employee earn more than $100,000 in 2020.
The salaries were provided by the state of Michigan’s retirement office. The salaries include all sources of compensation. That means additional payments for such things as retirement severance payments, salaries for coaching a sports team, or payments for taking on additional responsibilities such as working summer school or taking on a chair position are included.
Highest Paid Educators In Jackson County
| Name | District | Title | 2020 Gross Pay | 2019 Gross Pay |
| Geoff Bontrager | Northwest | Superintendent | $170,835 | $164,081 |
| Jeff Beal | Jackson | Superintendent | $169,401 | $164,556 |
| Michael Smajda | Western | Superintendent | $159,500 | $154,000 |
| Kevin Oxley | Jackson ISD | Superintendent | $158,310 | $151,096 |
| John Ruddell | Jackson | Director of Finance | $133,893 | $130,010 |
| James Graham | Napoleon | Superintendent | $127,282 | $124,786 |
| Ryle Kiser | Grass Lake | Superintendent | $126,004 | $119,312 |
| William Patterson | Jackson | Assistant Superintendent | $125,825 | $119,851 |
| Julie Baker | Jackson | Assistant Superintendent | $122,550 | $99,609 |
| Nicole Johnson | Jackson | Assistant Superintendent | $121,146 | $119,851 |
| Cari Bushinski | Northwest | Director of Instruction | $120,966 | $112,791 |
| Maureen Keene | Jackson ISD | Special Ed Director | $120,822 | $117,875 |
| Pamela Campbell | Columbia | Superintendent | $119,757 | $116,269 |
| Monica Pierce | Jackson | Principal | $119,568 | $104,884 |
| Roger Auwers | Jackson ISD | Director of Finance | $117,386 | $115,651 |
| Catherine Brechtelsbauer | Jackson ISD | Director of Human Resources | $117,386 | $115,651 |
| Shannon Degan | Jackson ISD | Director of Technology | $116,355 | $113,517 |
| Tovah Sheldon | Jackson ISD | Director of Learning Services | $115,464 | $112,648 |
| Jeremy Patterson | Jackson | Principal | $113,611 | $110,427 |
| John Denney | Hanover Horton | Superintendent | $113,520 | $110,505 |
| William Hofer | Jackson ISD | Consultant | $113,405 | $97,433 |
| Mark Pogliano | Jackson ISD | Principal | $112,562 | $110,842 |
| Mary Jo Raczkowski-Shannon | Jackson | Principal | $112,015 | $109,858 |
| John Sougstad | Jackson ISD | Assistant Director of Special Education | $109,149 | $106,616 |
| Crystal Cutler | Jackson ISD | Special Education Lead Supervisor | $109,149 | $106,636 |
| Kevin Blair | Jackson | Teacher | $108,819 | $102,686 |
| Jeffrey Huey | Jackson | Energy Specialist Assistant Supervisor | $107,833 | $104,701 |
| Scott Leach | Vandercook Lake | Superintendent | $107,315 | $106,202 |
| Teresa Odegard | Jackson ISD | Speech Language Pathologist | $106,765 | $95,304 |
| Scott Buchler | Northwest | Principal | $106,548 | $102,697 |
| Brady Cook | Michigan Center | Superintendent | $106,499 | $108,249 |
| Melissa Weaver | Jackson ISD | Special Education Supervisor | $106,352 | $104,008 |
| Brian Thompson | Grass Lake | Principal | $106,115 | $105,207 |
| Gail Trudell | Jackson ISD | Special Education Supervisor | $105,664 | $103,187 |
| Jessica Nichols | Jackson ISD | Special Education Supervisor | $105,246 | $100,451 |
| Carol Novak | Jackson | Teacher | $104,835 | $85,888 |
| Laureen Lewis | Northwest | Director of Business and Finance | $104,774 | $88,102 |
| Angela Mitchell | Jackson ISD | Special Education Supervisor | $104,453 | $105,865 |
| Kathy Miller | Jackson ISD | Special Education Supervisor | $104,317 | $98,451 |
| Lynne Thompson | Jackson ISD | Assistant Director of Finance | $103,833 | $101,300 |
| Amy Rogers | Jackson ISD | Principal | $103,598 | $101,171 |
| Jared Vickers | Western | Principal | $103,366 | $101,193 |
| Jodi Collins | Jackson ISD | Speech Language Pathologist | $103,188 | $99,190 |
| Ray Savicke | Jackson | Technology Coordinator | $102,769 | $104,171 |
| David McKnight | Jackson ISD | Instructor | $102,072 | $102,904 |
| Timothy Allen | Jackson | Principal | $102,028 | $95,022 |
| Benjamin Muscott | Jackson ISD | Information Systems Manager | $101,979 | $99,492 |
| Eric Kelly | Northwest | Principal | $101,844 | $97,857 |
| Eric Weatherwax | Jackson | Principal | $101,489 | $99,609 |
| Joseph Zessin | Jackson | Principal | $101,489 | $99,609 |
| Martha Kuhn | Jackson | Principal | $101,489 | $99,609 |
| Holly Pollice | Jackson ISD | Teacher | $101,068 | $100,438 |
| Scott Dukate | Jackson ISD | Special Education Supervisor | $101,045 | $96,446 |
| Karen Mays | Jackson ISD | Speech Language Pathologist | $101,031 | $97,559 |
| Patricia Benjamin | Jackson | Teacher | $100,844 | $95,531 |
| Maureen Hesslau | Jackson | Teacher | $100,770 | $95,178 |
| Krista Jarvey | Jackson | Associate Principal | $100,475 | $97,609 |
| Jasper Lusby | Jackson | Principal | $100,475 | $97,809 |
| Amy Cantu | Jackson | Teacher | $100,388 | $85,460 |
| Cheryl Lemons | Jackson ISD | Assistant Human Resources Director | $100,228 | $94,785 |
| Kathleen Koebbe | Jackson ISD | Speech Language Pathologist | $100,026 | $97,513 |
