Dr. Tammy Campbell will take a $135,000 pay cut as she steps down as superintendent of Federal Way Public Schools and into a mentorship role for incoming Superintendent Dr. Dani Pfeiffer.
In April, Campbell announced her resignation from the role. The board appointed Deputy Superintendent Pfeiffer, who will assume the superintendent position July 1.
Campbell will remain a school district employee throughout the 2021-2022 school year to mentor Pfeiffer in the new role.
Joining the Federal Way district in 2015, Campbell spent six years working in the district’s highest role with a salary of $285,000 as of this school year. In Oct. 2020, Campbell’s contract was extended by the board through June 30, 2024. In the upcoming 2021-2022 school year, Campbell will earn $150,000.
Pfeiffer’s salary for the 2021-22 school year is $290,000, according to Kassie Swenson, chief of communications and strategy for the district.
Pfeiffer’s salary places her as the No. 15 highest paid superintendent or district executive in the state, according to a 2020 annual base salary report by the Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials (WCCSEO). The Federal Way School District serves upwards of 23,000 students.
Mukilteo’s superintendent, overseeing a district of about 15,000 students in Snohomish County, is the highest paid in the state with an annual base salary of $354,580, followed by the Renton School District superintendent — a district of approximately 15,500 students — earning $342,182, according to the report.
In comparison to nearby cities, the Kent School District serves nearly 27,000 students and their superintendent earns $264,700. The superintendent of Auburn School District, with about 17,000 students, makes a base salary of $279,145.
Gov. Jay Inslee earns $187,353, according to WCCSEO.
At the June 8 meeting, the board approved a $40,000 performance bonus for Campbell after an executive session.
This performance bonus is outlined in the superintendent’s contract for fulfilling requirements for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years at $20,000 for each school year, Swenson said.
Over the past 15 months in the pandemic, Campbell’s “extraordinary actions” and visionary leadership have helped the district endure trying times, said Board President Geoffery McAnalloy.
Her work in shifting the district to an innovative and entirely online model garnered attention from state and local leaders, McAnalloy said, such as Gov. Inslee and Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Superintendent Chris Reykdal, who consulted with Campbell and sought feedback on a number of educational fronts amid the pandemic.
“Monetarily, we can’t thank you enough,” McAnalloy told Campbell at the Tuesday night meeting.
