Written By: Emilee Calametti • The Center Square
The salary records of Bossier Parish school employees for 2024 omit all six-figure salaries, but despite the missing numbers, the salaries of present and former employees listed total more than $153 million.
A public records request provided by government watchdogs Open the Books to The Center Square showed salary data from 2023 totaling six figures or more omitted. The highest salary not omitted was $99,984, and the lowest salary was $6,106.
It is not clear if the omittance was intentional for the Bossier Parish school employee salary records. In total, 49 employee salaries are not listed over the $99,984 mark.
According to the Open the Books data, Jason Rowland, Bossier Parish Superintendent, is at the top of the list for salary, however the report doesn't share how much. A deeper dive through GovSalaries shows Rowland making $210,000 in 2024.
The top five highest salaries omitted are Bossier Parish Superintendent Jason Rowland, former Bossier Parish School Superintendent Mitchell Downey, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Waylon Bates, Human Resources Director Teri Howe and Assistant Superintendent Andrea Spinney.
GovSalaries show Downey making $189,350, Bates making $129,985, Howe making $129,780, and Spinney making $127,025.
While the six-figure salaries are omitted from the data obtained, five-figure salaries are listed. The top five five-figure salaries belong to Principal Michele Tugwell at $99,984, Principal Mitchell Maxwell at $99,980, Principal Afiya Code at $98,308, Terri Bird at $98,272, and Chief Accountant Brenda Lechien at $98,172.
Of the 3,324 salaries listed, the lowest are for parish crossing guards who made around $6,000 in 2024. The majority of school employees in the parish make between $20,000 to $60,000 a year.
In a previous report, 2023 data showed Bossier city officials making between $174,000 and $117,000. Bossier City Mayor Tommy Chandler received a reported salary of $94,755 in 2023.