Houston private school headmaster makes $1 million a year

HOUSTON – The Houston Chronicle reports that the faculty and staff of the Kinkaid School, one of Houston’s most expensive private schools, regularly rub shoulders with some of the city’s wealthiest people. And Kinkaid head of school Jonathan Eades may count as one himself. In 2022, according to the school’s most recent tax filings, he earned a compensation package worth just more than $1 million. Eades, formerly the head of St. Mary’s Hall in San Antonio, was hired by Kinkaid in 2020 after a nationwide search. Eades is likely the most highly compensated private school head in the Houston area. But his pay is not out of line with that of many peers, who often make many times more than principals, their public school counterparts. The average principal in Houston makes about $114,000, and the superintendent of the entire Houston public school district, Mike Miles, receives a salary of $380,000.

Across the country, the median salary for a head of school in the 2023-24 school year was $300,000, and the median starting salary for teachers was $48,000, according to the National Association of Independent Schools. Those figures don’t include paid tuition for children of educators, which can be a significant component of compensation packages. The compensation reflects the scope of Eades’ role and the size of the institution, said Peggy England, director of strategic communication for Kinkaid. The school, in Piney Point, has about 1,500 students from pre-K to 12th grade, nearly 500 faculty and staff and about 7,500 living alumni, England said, many of whom live in the Houston area. “Just like with any industry, compensation is such an important factor in attracting and retaining qualified and seasoned executives who can lead an institution of this size,” England said. Being the head of a private school today means fundraising, philanthropy and alumni relations as well as the core work of leading a school: “That’s a big portfolio for an individual,” England said.