Oak Harbor Public Schools’ recently-appointed superintendent, Michelle Kuss-Cybula, will earn $209,183 a year in her new position, according to school board documents.

This salary was finalized when school board members unanimously approved Kuss-Cybula’s three-year contract during a board meeting March 14.

Her predecessor, interim Superintendent Karst Brandsma, received a base salary of $206,412 during his year of employment, according to school district spokesperson Conor Laffey. Former Superintendent Lance Gibbon made a base salary of $195,006 during his last year in the district.

The district’s superintendent salary has risen steeply in recent years. Rick Schulte, who led Oak Harbor Public Schools from 1993 to 2013, earned a base salary of $137,312 during his last year on the job, meaning the position’s pay has increased by around 50% within the last decade alone.

Kuss-Cybula’s contract begins July 1. Prior to accepting the position in Oak Harbor, she has served as the superintendent of the Cle Elum-Roslyn School District since 2019.

Kuss-Cybula comes into the district in the wake of a failed bond measure that would have funded the construction of new district buildings.