Revealed: How much South Australia’s top private schools pay their most senior staff

Senior leaders are raking in the big bucks at some of South Australia’s most elite private schools. See what they’re being paid.

More than 10 South Australian private schools are paying their top staff an average salary package of $200,000 or more - including almost $290,000 for senior leaders at one campus.

And two schools - Trinity College and Scotch College - each paid a group of 15 key staff more than $3m in total.

The Advertiser has analysed the wages bills of senior managers at 25 Catholic and independent schools published online.

Key staff can include principals and their deputies, heads of curriculum, business managers and other roles, although the documents do not list individual salaries.

The analysis is based on the latest available data revealing remuneration packages in 2022.

That was the first year schools were required to report to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission how much they pay their senior leaders.

However, schools appear to have interpreted the reporting criteria differently and included varying numbers or types of staff, or not listed a number of staff at all.

By comparison, principal roles at public high schools in SA have been advertised with salaries of up to $175,000 a year, depending on school size, complexity and location.

Woodcroft College principal Shannon Warren. Picture: supplied

At Woodcroft College principal Shannon Warren and the school’s director of corporate services shared a $579,603 remuneration package, or $289,801 when split evenly.

Woodcroft College board chairman Wade Burns said the gross figure included superannuation, fringe benefits tax and vehicle expenses.

Mr Burns said both staff members worked 55-plus hours a week, on weekends and during school holidays and the “pace and intensity of their work has continued to increase”.

Ms Warren said her role required her to be across everything from curriculum, technology and policies to recruiting, budgets and communicating with parents.

She said principals were also “dealing with increasingly demanding, emotionally intense situations” and the “emotional labour” of the role was “often overlooked”.

Pembroke School. Picture Dean Martin

Pembroke School principal Mark Staker said the $1,391,161 total reported by his school in 2022 included leave entitlements paid to former principal Luke Thomson, who led the school for 12 years, and to the school’s former deputy principal who was an employee of almost three decades.

St John’s Grammar School reported that five senior staff were paid a combined $1,123,289 - or an average $224,657.

Principal Richard Anderson said since then the school’s structure had changed and there were now 13 people in its senior team whose salaries reflected their level of responsibility.

“Schools are multimillion dollar enterprises, and complex ones at that, and a team of highly capable professionals is needed to ensure sustainability and the delivery of outstanding educational experiences for our families,” Mr Anderson said.

Pulteney Grammar School. Picture Dean Martin

At Pulteney Grammar School - where 10 senior leaders earned an average pay packet of $116,212 each - a spokeswoman said the school was “committed to compensating our staff fairly based on their positions and experience”.

“While we cannot discuss individual cases, our remuneration practices align with industry standards and reflect the value we place on the expertise and dedication of our staff,” she said.

Association of Independent Schools of South Australia chief executive Anne Dunstan. Picture: Supplied

Association of Independent Schools of SA chief executive Anne Dunstan said the information published “does not provide a complete picture and it is necessary to consider each school’s unique situation before judging it on its financial information, or comparing its financial information to another school”.

Ms Dunstan said principals and senior staff were responsible for leading teaching, supporting students and staff, recruiting, enrolments, finances, marketing, risk and compliance, strategic planning and infrastructure.

“The hours worked by these staff members in their very public roles are often long and demanding, with many working beyond the standard 9am to 5pm workday,” she said.

“Given the complex nature of school leadership, it is not surprising that principals and senior staff in independent schools earn the remuneration they deserve.”