The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
At $221,450, Middletown schools chief is highest paid BOE worker
MIDDLETOWN — Middletown Public Schools chief Alberto Vázquez Matos is among the highest-paid superintendents of schools in Connecticut, according to his employment contract.
His salary for the 2022-23 academic year is $221,450, placing him some $34,000 above $187,196, the average school superintendent salary in Connecticut as of Feb. 27, according to salary.com.
The website indicates that the range typically falls between $152,907 and $225,878.
Vázquez Matos earned $215,000 in 2022, according to data provided by the school district. As part of his benefits, he receives an annuity worth 10 percent of his salary, as specified by his Board of Education contract dated June 14, 2022, which runs through June 30, 2025.
His salary will increase for the 2024-25 academic year to $228,094.
Vázquez Matos, hired in July 2021 as the district’s chief academic officer, stepped into the top role in October 2021.
He holds two doctorates: a philosophy Ph.D. in second language research, and an education Ph.D. in administration, according to his resume. He also earned a master’s of education in school administration and supervision and a bachelor of arts degree in Spanish and secondary education.
He also gets several benefits, according to his contract. They include 15 sick days, up to a maximum of 150 accumulated days. If some or all are unused, the superintendent will be paid 10% of vacation due to him if he leaves. Vázquez Matos will also receive 25 vacation days and the ability to carry over up to 15 of those to the following year.
Other benefits include three personal absence days for “pressing personal business,” health insurance, term life insurance equal to his annual salary, a long-term disability policy worth 60% of his base salary, reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses, and $6,000 in mileage on the first of the fiscal year, according to the agreement.
The school board pays for
Vázquez Matos’ memberships to professional associations, including the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents, The School Superintendents Association, Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents and Connecticut Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents.
Compared with Connecticut municipalities with populations similar to Middletown’s, Vázquez Matos made about the same as East Hartford Superintendent of Schools Nathan D. Quesnel, $214,703, according to his agreement with the East Hartford Board of Education.
Shelton Superintendent Ken Saranich earned $203,863 in
2022, while Southington schools chief Steven Madancy made $200,500 during that same time period, and Wallingford Superintendent Danielle Bellizzi was paid $190,000, their contracts show.
Unlike Vázquez Matos, whose salary increases over the three years of his agreement, the other four superintendents are being paid the same throughout the duration of their contracts.
Other top 10 BOE employee salaries
• District Chief of Operations Marco Gaylord, $197,131
• Former Middletown High
School principal Colleen Weiner, $173,690
• Director of Pupil Personnel Vacianna Farquharson, $164,592
• Director of Performance Management and Strategic Processes Jennifer Cannata, $154,594
• Chief of Administration Christine Bourne, $153,800
• Director of Technology Services Michael Skott, $152,251
• Middletown Adult Education Director James Misenti, $150,751
• Wesley Elementary School Principal Thomas Cannata, $150,751
• Lawrence Elementary School Principal James Gaudreau, $150,751
View the entire central office salary report at ctinsider.com.