atlanta news tagged interest

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The man who will now lead Atlanta Public Schools is getting big bucks and benefits for the job.

Dr. Bryan Johnson was selected to succeed interim Superintendent Danielle Battle. Johnson was the executive vice chancellor and chief strategy officer at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

The three year deal pays him $375,000 a year with a three percent raise the next two years, his moving expenses from Chattanooga are completely covered and he has a $1,200 per month expense account for travel and other discretionary expenses that he is not required to document.

The contract doesn’t officially go into effect until Aug. 5 but Dr. Johnson is already getting paid. He is earning $1,500 per day as an independent contractor.

Dr. Johnson’s salary is not out of line or even the highest compared to other metro Atlanta school superintendents.

According to the government-run website Open Georgia, Gwinnett County’s superintendent made $460,000 dollars last year, including compensation for travel; DeKalb’s superintendent made $417,000; and Fulton county’s superintendent’s salary totaled $463,000 dollars.

Dr. Johnson is Atlanta Public Schools’ third superintendent over the past 11 years. If the Board of Education fires him before the end of his contract, he stands to walk away with a full year’s salary.