By Raga Justin
Albany Times Union

ALBANY — State Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa quietly received a pay increase of $155,000 within the past six months as part of a decision to bring her annual salary in line with superintendents of certain local school districts, according to interviews and records obtained by the Times Union.

Payroll records on file with the state comptroller’s office indicate that Rosa went from making $334,000 in 2021 to receiving $464,000 a year after a salary increase in August. Another pay increase of $25,000 went into effect at the beginning of January, lifting Rosa’s annual salary to $489,000.

In a statement explaining the pay raise — which went into effect without public notice — JP O’Hare, a spokesman for the state Education Department, pointed to eight superintendents in New York who were paid more per year than Rosa was before her salary increase. And he noted that 20 other superintendents have salaries within 10 percent of her current salary. 

The perception that Rosa is not highly paid compared to the local superintendents, whom she oversees, could be damaging for the department, O’Hare said. 

“Given that the Education Law makes the commissioner responsible for the oversight of local public school districts, this salary gap (or even the proximity) between the commissioner’s salary and those of superintendents undermines the perception of the commissioner as the head of the public education system,” O’Hare said. “It also presents challenges in recruiting future commissioners of education, as many educational leaders would be reluctant to accept a demanding position that paid less, or barely more than, their current salaries.”

Before authorizing the pay increase, the state Education Department consulted with the Division of Budget and the governor’s Office of Employee Relations, and also provided notice to lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee and the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, O’Hare said.

But individual lawmakers on that committee were not notified by the department, said Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, a member of the Ways and Means Committee. 

“I hope they did it within the confines of the law,” Solages said. 

The majority of the eight superintendents who were paid salaries larger than Rosa’s are on Long Island, according to public records. Those range from $344,000 to $384,000 a year. The superintendent of Shenendehowa Central School District, a large Capital Region school system, receives $256,869 a year, according to public records.

Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie declined to comment on the pay raise.

The salary increase for Rosa came as renewed scrutiny has swirled around the antiquated State Museum, which is located in Albany’s sprawling Empire State Plaza and under the jurisdiction of the state Education Department. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul recently announced plans to invest $150 million in the museum and suggested a panel of experts handpicked by her chamber to oversee renovations at the museum — a move that could trigger a turf battle between Rosa and Hochul during the upcoming budget negotiations. Hochul’s salary is $250,000 a year.

Rosa is a Bronx veteran of New York’s public education system who served as chancellor of the state Board of Regents for four years before she was tapped in 2020 to be the head of one of the state’s largest agencies. 

The state Education Department occupies a unique role in New York’s government and is largely governed by a Board of Regents, a 17-member panel that is responsible for authorizing nearly all New York educational policy decisions.

Rosa’s pay bump was quietly authorized by the Board of Regents after it conducted a review last year and determined that a $130,000 annual pay raise was warranted based on “national and state data.” The board did not take a formal vote on the salary increase, which O’Hare said was consistent with other budget requests. He initially said details of the review would not be made public, but then on Tuesday afternoon provided the records in support of the decision-making process.

The agency will reevaluate whether Rosa’s salary should be further increased in two years. Subsequent annual increases “could be planned for and incorporated,” according to the review documents.

“This is comparable to and substantially less than, the compensation afforded to other state educational leaders, including the SUNY chancellor and other SUNY campus presidents,” O’Hare said. “The increase was paid for with existing funds appropriated to NYSED for employee salaries.”

The Education Department justified the increase by citing salaries paid to other high-ranking education officials, including Havidán Rodríguez, president of the University at Albany. There was a “substantial gap” of $278,878 between what Rosa and Rodriguez make, according to the review document. And the review also pointed to SUNY Chancellor John B. King’s annual compensation of $824,832, including a housing allowance.

Rosa cannot receive a housing allowance by law; the agency instead considered the value of a housing stipend to add to her revised salary. 

But the salary increase appears to go above others in similar state government roles.

When Rosa was tapped to lead the Education Department five years ago, she received a salary of $324,000. Commissioners of other comparable state agencies receive $220,000 as their base pay, though it’s not uncommon for administrators to receive additional income by serving as heads of institutions connected to their particular agency.

O’Hare said that Rosa, who concurrently serves as the president of the University of the State of New York — the umbrella organization overseeing New York’s educational programs, including schools, libraries and museums — is tasked with overseeing day-to-day direction of a “unique education governance structure” that effectively lumps the entire K-12 and collegiate educational system.

As her official salary for education commissioner is set by statute, increases must go through her title as president of the University of the State of New York.