By ANDREA DAY
MYFOXNY.COM - Fox 5 News reports that Syosset schools superintendent Carole Hankin rakes in more than half million dollars a year.
She heads what is billed as one of the top school districts in the country, and people pay steep property taxes to fund the schools.
The district serves all of Woodbury and Syosset communities of Long Island, with approximately 7,000 students in 10 schools.
When you add in benefits, Hankin takes home $542,000 -- and this year she even got a raise.
She takes home $300,000 more than the leader of the giant New York City school system. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has blasted the salary and called it an example of wasteful school spending.
Political analyst Larry Levy says, "It's so far out of scale that it puts a bulls-eye on the backs of all superintendents and is a distraction from the really important issues."
But some parents disagree, because they believe she is doing a great job and the schools are doing well. The district reported spending more than $18,000 a year per pupil in 2009.
The superintendent is not the only one in the district bringing home a big pay check. A Long Island Schools Website reports that 37 employees in the district make more than $100,000 a year, including an administrative assistant.
The Syosset schools district issued a statement to Fox 5 News saying that Hankin's salary will not rise next year.
