A video circulating online is sparking quite the frustration claiming the entire South San Antonio ISD Police Department earns six figures, speculating some make more than $600,000. It would be cause for concern, considering the district closed several schools in recent years and had a state takeover in part due to financial issues, if it were true. It absolutely is not true.
Turning to TikTok followers, a user said he was perusing a website known for posting government salaries on a fishing expedition when he discovered some shocking figures at the SSAISD police department. Salaries high into the six figures across nearly two dozen officers. Understandably, his comment section was filled with angered residents citing school closures, staffing cuts and other impacts from financial issues over previous years.
But common sense and some budget review show this certainly isn’t the reality. In fact, SSAISD Superintendent Saul Hinojosa – tapped by the state to help get the district back on track – said the highest paid employee on the department is the police chief.
“Not even close. Our highest paid officer, I believe, is [paid] maybe $105,000, which is our chief of police,” Hinojosa told MySA. “Nobody else is making six figures.”
In fact, digging through budget season documents readily available on the school district website shows pretty meager salary for officers keeping South San schools secure. The entire budget for security and monitoring is around $1.5 million – roughly a quarter of what the salaries estimated by the TikToker would total alone.
On average, certified peace officers earn between $24.34 and $33.20 an hours. For those working 187 days, that ranges between about $45,000 and $62,000 a year. Those hourly rates go up with qualifications, with sergeants and lieutenants making as much as $52 an hour or as little as $30.62 an hour. But none of these amount to the high-six-figure salaries posted on the unreliable government salaries website.
Overall, South San Antonio ISD officer salaries are pretty comparable to the rest of the school districts in town.
This article originally published at $600K salaries for San Antonio school district officers? Here’s what we found..