Derby school staffers among highest paid in city

DERBY — Administrators from Derby Public Schools are some of the highest paid workers in the city, data released by the district showed.

Superintendent Matthew Conway was the highest paid city employee in 2020 at $198,843.05. Aimee Misset, a principal at Irving Elementary School, earned the second most at $151,868.98, according to the school system’s business manager office.

Martin Pasquale, who in 2019 made $154,568 as the principal of Derby High School, made $130,679.07 in 2020. Conway said Pasquale switched to a teaching position at Derby Middle School.

“In August, he became our social studies teacher at the middle school,” Conway said.

By comparison, the highest paid municipal worker in Derby, Police Officer Justin Walker, earned $148,887.86, which would put him in fourth place on the school list.

Jim Gildea, Board of Education chairman, said that the school staff are fairly compensated for the work they do — and are expected to do.

“Our educators have gone through many years of schooling and education and are shaping the minds of our students and are impacting future generations for years to come. There are few more important roles in society than that of educator,” Gildea said.

Conway said that the pay reflects the 2020 calendar year and may not reflect the total amount of money paid to administrators, since school district actually works on a fiscal year from June to July. He also said that some staff members may opt out of the city’s health insurance and receive a stipend — counted as income — for insurance they get from another provider.

Gildea also said that while most of the budget covers salaries, Derby tends to spend less money on education than comparable districts in the area.

“I think you're always cognizant of the fact that Derby is amongst the lowest cities in the state when it comes to educational funding,” he said.

Here are the top earning Derby Schools employees for 2020:

⏩ Matthew Conway, superintendent, $198,843.05

⏩ Aimee Misset, principal, $151,868.98

⏩ Jennifer Olson, principal, $151,864.56

⏩ Rachael Caggiano, principal, $147,402.35

⏩ Mario Ciccarini, principal, $146,202.78

⏩ Tracey Quartiano, assistant principal, $136,556.74

⏩ Martin Pasquale, principal, $130,679.07

⏩ Ray Coplin, assistant principal, $128,692.52

⏩ Michael Rafferty, director of teaching and learning, $126,037.45

⏩ Mark Izzo, business manager, $118,933.70

Conway

Olson