East Central Texas News

Palestine Independent School District (ISD) Superintendent Jason Marshall's base salary is one-third higher than the median salary for district superintendents in East Texas.

That's according to an analysis of Texas Education Agency (TEA) school district salary data from District 7, which includes Anderson County, by the East Central Texas Reporter.

Marshall's base pay was $182,000 in 2022, according to the TEA, 23rd of the 102 superintendents in District 7 and 33 percent-- some $46,000-- more than the median.

The top salary last year was $315,000, paid to Marty Lane Crawford of Tyler ISD, which has 18,238 students, or six times that of Palestine ISD.

According to the analysis, eight of the 102 superintendents earned more than $200,000, and 20 earned more than $150,000, including Marshall.

Marshall, 54, was hired in 2009 as Palestine ISD Superintendent, and has been in the job 12 years. He previously served as superintendent at Cooper ISD in Delta County for three years, and as a principal at Pleasant Grove H.S. outside Texarkana.

The Marshalls: $265K in household income

Superintendent Marshall, the son of two government school teachers, isn't the only Palestine ISD salary-earner in his household.

Marshall's wife, Shanna Silman Marshall, is "Director of Grants and Compliance" for the district, earning $82,760, according to public reports.

Combined, the two are reeceiving combined $264,900 in base salary from Palestine ISD taxpayers, 

This total income places the Marshalls in the top 1.5% of local earners and is more than five times the median income  of Anderson County, which is $49,736.

Shanna Silman Marshall is also the daughter of government school teachers; her father is a science teacher in Cooper ISD, and her mother is a principal.

Jason Marshall has been an outspoken critic of educational choice, which would result in competition for government schools like Palestine ISD, forcing it to compete with private schools for tax dollars allocated by parents, not a school district.

 At at a local legislative wrap up meeting in Longview, Marshall said that educational savings account (ESA) programs  that would allow parents to select their own schools, rather than requiring them to attend a specific government school, would put students "on the street."

Marshall argued that government schools offer "the greatest education in the world, not some online education they got because of a voucher.”

The Texas Education Agency 2022 Federal Report Card found 44 percent of Palestine ISD students to be "at grade level" in English and 46 percent in math.

The 2022 "STARR" state performance exam found 34 percent of Palestine ISD third-eighth graders were "at grade level."

According to the Dallas News, the ESA proposals currently under consideration would allocate up to $8,000 to qualifying families. These funds could be used for various educational needs, including private school tuition, books, tutoring, uniforms, and transportation, and would be strictly monitored by a comptroller’s office. 

That disbursement would not be immediate and would only apply to state-approved private schools and vendors, said the article.. The proposal includes provisions to safeguard rural school districts from losing funding, addressing concerns from critics about the potential impacts of the state’s ESA proposals.

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) has prioritized ESA legislation. As the Texas House and Senate gear up to reconvene in a special session, the topic is set to be a focal point of deliberations.

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What are the salaries of the 102 superintendents in Texas State District 7?

	Superintendent Name	County	District	Base Pay	Enrollment
1	CRAWFORD, MARTY LANE	SMITH	TYLER ISD	$315,000	18,328
2	SURRATT, STAN M	SMITH	LINDALE ISD	$265,758	4,469
3	ROBINETT, RUSSELL LEE	SMITH	CUMBERLAND ACADEMY	$246,065	2,037
4	TEDDER, RICHARD ALLAN	HENDERSON	CROSS ROADS ISD	$231,590	560
5	MORAN, CHRISTOPHER ALLAN	SMITH	WHITEHOUSE ISD	$228,000	4,916
6	CLUGSTON, STEVEN WAYNE	GREGG	PINE TREE ISD	$227,210	4,611
7	LANGLEY, RICHELE	HARRISON	MARSHALL ISD	$222,000	5,057
8	WILCOX, JAMES E	GREGG	LONGVIEW ISD	$220,186	8,274
9	LAMB, THURSTON BENNETT	RUSK	HENDERSON ISD	$219,450	3,400
10	ALBRITTON, RICKEY D	UPSHUR	GILMER ISD	$215,722	2,825
11	TORRES, LYNN	ANGELINA	LUFKIN ISD	$212,000	7,164
12	TRUJILLO, GABRIEL ALEX	NACOGDOCHES	NACOGDOCHES ISD	$210,000	5,943
13	BITTER, MICHAEL JARROD	PANOLA	CARTHAGE ISD	$205,001	2,621
14	LAPIC, TERRY	GREGG	EAST TEXAS CHARTER SCHOOLS	$204,000	136
15	DUNN, DONALD L	VAN ZANDT	VAN ISD	$202,604	2,407
16	RICHARDSON, JERRY	RUSK	TATUM ISD	$202,204	1,476
17	STEWART, BRADLEY NOLAN	CHEROKEE	JACKSONVILLE ISD	$201,130	4,909
18	WEBB, DONALD GLEN	ANGELINA	HUDSON ISD	$199,672	2,768
19	BRYCE, STACEY L	GREGG	SABINE ISD	$192,403	1,563
20	MARTIN, JOHN LEWIS	HARRISON	HALLSVILLE ISD	$192,100	19,818
21	DEAN, DEAVERON LAMOND	SMITH	CHAPEL HILL ISD	$191,504	3,308
22	BAKER, EMMETT A	GREGG	KILGORE ISD	$187,000	3,821
23	MARSHALL, JASON LYNN	ANDERSON	PALESTINE ISD	$182,200	3,297
24	MORRIS, HUBERT BRIAN	SHELBY	CENTER ISD	$175,250	2,491
25	HAMPTON, KERI NICOLE	HENDERSON	BROWNSBORO ISD	$175,000	2,620
26	LEWIS, MICAH LANE	VAN ZANDT	GRAND SALINE ISD	$174,491	1,214
27	CLARK, SEDRIC G	GREGG	GLADEWATER ISD	$168,380	1,755
28	BURTON, KEVIN GREY	CHEROKEE	RUSK ISD	$168,300	2,055
29	FLEET, PENNY L	GREGG	SPRING HILL ISD	$167,000	2,071
30	STANFORD, JAMES WADE	ANDERSON	WESTWOOD ISD	$164,349	1,414
31	WILCOX, BRIAN D	WOOD	WINNSBORO ISD	$160,000	1,539
32	MIZE, JON CODY	WOOD	MINEOLA ISD	$160,000	1,643
33	LEE, JACK D	SMITH	BULLARD ISD	$160,000	2,886
34	GRAY, BRIAN STACEY	GREGG	WHITE OAK ISD	$157,290	1,440
35	JONES, TAMRIA JEAN	SMITH	TROUP ISD	$155,555	1,087
36	KEY, CARL E	UPSHUR	NEW DIANA ISD	$155,000	1,186
37	SIMMONS, DAVID E	NACOGDOCHES	MARTINSVILLE ISD	$150,000	323
38	COTTON, NORMA ELIZABETH	SMITH	CUMBERLAND ACADEMY	$150,000	2,037
39	WEST, RAYNARD R	SHELBY	SHELBYVILLE ISD	$146,730	831
40	RISNER, JUSTIN RYAN	ANGELINA	CENTRAL ISD	$146,500	1,463
41	MCMAINS, JULIA D	HENDERSON	EUSTACE ISD	$145,000	1,727
42	JOHNSON, MID	SHELBY	TIMPSON ISD	$143,866	705
43	THOMAS, VICKI MOODY	ANGELINA	DIBOLL ISD	$142,800	1,669
44	COLEMAN, LAWRENCE K	RUSK	WEST RUSK COUNTY CONSOLIDATED ISD	$142,000	1,048
45	BAIN, REBECCA S	VAN ZANDT	FRUITVALE ISD	$141,987	398
46	GREER, TODD D	PANOLA	GARY ISD	$141,149	493
47	PAYNE, MICHAEL R	RUSK	CARLISLE ISD	$140,709	623
48	RATCLIFF, JAY MICHAEL	HARRISON	HARLETON ISD	$140,569	705
49	TAYLOR, BRADY S	NACOGDOCHES	WODEN ISD	$139,315	835
50	LAYTON, DONALD EUGENE	HENDERSON	MALAKOFF ISD	$138,427	1,433
51	JOHNSON, JENNIFER LUCILLE	RAINS	RAINS ISD	$137,025	1,754
52	LIEPMAN, MARGARET VIRGINIA	SAN AUGUSTINE	SAN AUGUSTINE ISD	$136,200	657
53	SIMMONS, JO ANN	SMITH	UT TYLER UNIVERSITY ACADEMY	$136,073	872
54	GILDER, CARNELIUS D	SABINE	WEST SABINE ISD	$136,000	608
55	HEFLIN, LYNN	UPSHUR	ORE CITY ISD	$135,000	825
56	GUNTER, MONICA BETH	ANGELINA	PINEYWOODS COMMUNITY ACADEMY	$135,000	997
57	MILLER, DAMENION DARRELL	SMITH	WINONA ISD	$131,125	1,104
58	FALLIN, DONALD E	SHELBY	TENAHA ISD	$130,908	455
59	SMITH, LAMONT	ANDERSON	ELKHART ISD	$130,684	1,194
60	COOK, PAIGE NICOLE	ANDERSON	FRANKSTON ISD	$130,625	802
61	HOLLOWAY, BENJAMIN L	SAN AUGUSTINE	BROADDUS ISD	$130,000	383
62	MORTON, SUSAN T	WOOD	HAWKINS ISD	$129,455	769
63	PRATER, KRISTIN D	VAN ZANDT	EDGEWOOD ISD	$128,519	1,042
64	FULLER, MARVIN RYAN	SHELBY	JOAQUIN ISD	$128,000	711
65	MOORE, KELLY KAY	UPSHUR	UNION GROVE ISD	$128,000	761
66	LASITER, CLIFFORD A	ANDERSON	SLOCUM ISD	$127,500	349
67	ENGLISH, STEPHEN CARROLL	SABINE	HEMPHILL ISD	$125,000	840
68	RUSSELL, DAVID	NACOGDOCHES	CENTRAL HEIGHTS ISD	$125,000	1,104
69	TURNER, RHONDA D	WOOD	QUITMAN ISD	$124,193	1,216
70	TYNER, SCOTT D	VAN ZANDT	MARTINS MILL ISD	$123,000	495
71	ALPHIN, MICHAEL J	UPSHUR	HARMONY ISD	$121,900	1,009
72	ARRINGTON, JOHN S	SMITH	ARP ISD	$121,275	985
73	PATTY, BOBBI RAE ANN	HARRISON	WASKOM ISD	$120,956	825
74	MAYS, CHANCE D	RUSK	MOUNT ENTERPRISE ISD	$120,000	496
75	THOMPSON, MACIE RUSHING	WOOD	ALBA-GOLDEN ISD	$120,000	823
76	DICKSON, AMY BROWNING	HARRISON	KARNACK ISD	$118,466	130
77	EVERETT, MATTHEW L	RUSK	LEVERETTS CHAPEL ISD	$117,999	234
78	WEST, KELLY B	CHEROKEE	ALTO ISD	$117,500	536
79	HINES, CORY B	ANDERSON	NECHES ISD	$115,000	310
80	SIMMONS, MONICA R	HARRISON	ELYSIAN FIELDS ISD	$115,000	813
81	BATTS, TROY	UPSHUR	UNION HILL ISD	$113,500	254
82	SPIVEY, TROY REID	NACOGDOCHES	GARRISON ISD	$112,856	760
83	HELFFERICH, TRACEY H	WOOD	YANTIS ISD	$112,458	387
84	ENOS, BRANDON TROY	NACOGDOCHES	CUSHING ISD	$112,000	547
85	BURNS, MICHAEL BRADLEY	UPSHUR	BIG SANDY ISD	$111,000	671
86	FOLLOWWELL, KIMBERLY ELISE	HENDERSON	MURCHISON ISD	$110,160	175
87	CALHOUN, LARRY G	RUSK	OVERTON ISD	$110,000	494
88	CRAWFORD, WILLIAM ZACHARY	ANGELINA	ZAVALLA ISD	$107,635	323
89	KEELING, JUSTIN	NACOGDOCHES	DOUGLASS ISD	$107,161	436
90	PARDUE, MELISSA JANE	VAN ZANDT	RANCH ACADEMY	$107,016	93
91	MILLS, MARSHA T	HENDERSON	LAPOYNOR ISD	$105,000	491
92	TATE, DEVIN L	PANOLA	BECKVILLE ISD	$105,000	686
93	KING, BRIAN PATRICK	NACOGDOCHES	CHIRENO ISD	$103,000	404
94	BRANNEN, JOE PAUL	CHEROKEE	NEW SUMMERFIELD ISD	$103,000	515
95	HAGAN, LYSA M	NACOGDOCHES	STEPHEN F AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY CHARTER SCHOOL	$99,778	252
96	WRIGHT, TERESA	RUSK	LANEVILLE ISD	$99,695	150
97	SATTERWHITE, JOE E	ANDERSON	CAYUGA ISD	$96,000	594
98	MASON, LARRY WAYNE	SHELBY	EXCELSIOR ISD	$95,610	74
99	JENKINS, COREY D	HENDERSON	TRINIDAD ISD	$95,242	133
100	GASTON, HOLLIE JILL	CHEROKEE	WELLS ISD	$92,000	259
101	WORLEY, CHARLES MILTON	PANOLA	PANOLA CHARTER SCHOOL	$87,550	197
102	VONNER, WILEY EDWOMB	SMITH	WINONA ISD	$63,730	1,104