Top Five Highest-Paid, Lowest-Paid at Public Agencies
Public tax dollars – from sales and property taxes and bond measures – fund street and traffic projects, law enforcement, and, predominantly, the salaries of public employees who oversee these duties.
The top earners’ pay is often scrutinized, but what about the other end of the scale?
To show the spread in pay rates, Petaluma Voice looked at the wages of both the highest-paid employees and the lowest-paid hourly positions with the City of Petaluma, its three largest school districts, and our local health care district. (Though not funded by tax dollars, Healthy Petaluma is a public agency and held to the same standards of transparency as other government agencies.)
Government
City of Petaluma
The City of Petaluma is led by a seven-member elected city council that oversees public safety, parks, utilities, and other aspects of our daily lives. The public servants who work on these projects make the council’s decisions into reality. The city employs over 580 people and manages a budget of over $348 million.
Highest paid (ranges shown when applicable):
- City Manager: $291,000 per year ($139/hour)
- Chief of Police: $212,201 to $281,112 per year ($102 to $135/hour)
- Fire Chief: $231,275 to $277,534 per year ($111 to $133/hour)
- City Attorney: $268,140 per year ($128/hour)
- Assistant City Manager: $200,553 to $260,250 ($96 to $125/hour)
Lowest paid:
- Intern, Recreation Aide, Lifeguard I: $17.97 to $21.84/hour
- Emergency Medical Tech: $18.50 to $22.49/hour
- Lifeguard II, Swim Instructor A: $18.97 to $23.06/hour
- Rec Leader, Rec Specialist A: $20.97 to $25.50/hour
- Com TRNST ASST SPANISH Spkg: $21.84 to $26.54/hour
(These positions are all part-time.)
Note: City Council members earn $5 per city meeting. The mayor earns $10.
Data according to a salary schedule as of July 7, 2025.
Health Care Districts
Healthy Petaluma District and Foundation
Healthy Petaluma is "a community-owned and -operated public agency," that is "dedicated to ensuring Petaluma has access to a quality acute care hospital with emergency services and fostering a healthier community," according to its website. Its most recent audited budget shows significant income from services provided, real estate lease revenues, and investments. By law, health care districts are required to submit annual financial reports to the California State Controller’s office and follow other public records and access laws. With a nine-person staff and five-member board, Healthy Petaluma serves Petaluma, Penngrove, Cotati, and parts of Rohnert Park.
Highest paid (as of 2024):
- Chief Executive Officer: $280,878
- Instructor/Manager with Healthquest: $83,314
- Controller: $78,861
- Community Outreach Manager: $76,380
- Staff Accountant: $70,764
Lowest paid (as of 2024, including only benefited employees):
- Community Health Worker: $47,979
- Executive Administrator $51,015
- Community Health Worker: $52,403
- Executive Administrator: $63,951
- Staff Accountant: see above
Note: Data for 2025 is not yet available. Compensation for Healthquest instructors and five board members in 2024 ranged from $6,500 to $180. Their pay was not shown to reflect benefited employees’ pay.
Source: Government Compensation in California, a public transparency portal hosted by the State Controller’s Office.
Transparency note: Petaluma Voice’s board president, Elece Hempel, has been a member of the Healthy Petaluma board since 2012 and started her latest term in 2025.
School Districts
We looked at the pay scales of the three largest public-school districts in Petaluma, which range in size from 800 to upwards of 7,000 students.
Petaluma City Schools
The city’s largest joint district serves more than 7,400 elementary, junior high, and high school students at 18 schools and employs more than 900 staff members, according to its website. Its total operating budget is upwards of $123 million, overseen by the five-member school board.
Highest paid:
- Superintendent: $291,608 for 223 work days or $163/hour (according to a 2024 contract)
- Chief Business Official: $215,162 for 223 work days or $107/hour (according to a 2024 contract)
- Assistant Superintendent: $203,578 for 220 work days or $116/hour(according to a 2026 contract)
- Assistant Superintendent: $199,586 for 223 work days or $112/hour (according to a 2024 contract)
- Director/High School Principals: $158,913 to $189,917 for 219 work days or $91 to $108/hour (according to a 2024-2025 salary schedule)
Teacher pay ranges from $65,116 to $121,691 per year for 187 work days.
Management and certificated staff are eligible for an additional stipend if they have a masters, doctorate, or additional certification.
Lowest paid:
- Food Service Delivery, Child Care Assistant, Crossing Guard, Playground Supervisor: $19.19 to $28.15/hour
- Account Clerk, Cafeteria Assistant, Instructional Assistant: $20.14 to $29.56/hour
- Child Care Assistant Director, Student Advisor, Cafeteria Assistant: $21.15 to $31.03/hour
- Instructional Assistant, Library Coordinator, Family Mentor, Custodian: $22.21 to $32.57/hour
- Head Custodian, Bilingual Family Mentor, Library assistant, Art Docent: $23.31 to $34.21/hour
Source: https://petalumacityschools.org/departments/human-resources/salary-schedules.
Old Adobe Union School District
The five-school district reportedly had more than 450 employees in 2024, according to a government portal. In the 2024-25 school year it served about 1,700 students, and its leadership is overseen by a five-member school board.
Highest paid:
- Superintendents (2): $201,025 to $237,330 based on 220 work days, eight hours per day ($114/hour to $134.85/hour)
- Principals: $141,993 to $171,672 based on 205 work days, eight hours per day ($86.58/hour to $104.68/hour)
- Speech Teachers, Language Pathologists: $81,041 to $138,795 for 187 work days, 7.25 hours ($59.77 to $ 102.38/hour)
- Psychologist, Program Specialist, Behaviorist: $116,446 to $131,119 for 190 work days at 7.25 hours ($84.53 to $95.19/hour; Program Specialist receives $81.72 to $92.01/hour for 7.5 hours)
- Chief Business Official: $74.56 to $93.62/hour for 260 work days
Teacher pay ranges from $69,069 to $120,713 per year for 186 work days.
Lowest paid:
- Aide: $19.46 to $23.67/hour
- Food Program Assistant: $19.96 to $24.26/hour
- Food Service, Instructional Assistant: $20.44 to $24.87/hour
- Clerk Typist, Instructional Assistants: $20.95 to $25.47/hour
- Bilingual Instructional Assistant, Special Education Assistant, Preschool Instructional Assistant: $21.49 to $26.14/hour
Sources: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DrL_0AQMocRAzp8kmpr62tBc7zi4_1YN and Government Compensation in California.
Waugh School District
This two-school district in northeast Petaluma serves nearly 800 students from transitional kindergarten through sixth grade, according to a state school dashboard site.
Highest paid:
- Superintendent: $179,574 based on a 215-day work year
- Chief Business Officer: $115,441 to $153,938 for a 261-day work year
- Principals: $119,844 to $143,223 for a 210-day work year
- Speech Language Pathologist: $78,269 to $122,989 for a 186-day work year
- Psychologist: $100,674 to $120,312 for a 191-day work year
Teacher pay ranges from $57,285 to $105,237 per year.
Management and certificated staff receive additional pay for advanced degrees and certifications.
Lowest paid (as of the 2024-25 Classified Salary Schedule):
- Instructional Assistant: $17.41 to $22.72/hour
- Yard Supervisor: $17.41 to $22.72/hour
- Food Service Assistant: $17.41 to $22.72/hour
- Food Service Attendant $18.02 to $23.51/hour
- Resource Specialist Assistant $18.02 to $23.51/hour
Classified staff receive additional pay for additional years of service.
Sources: https://waughsd.org/apps/pages/HumanResource and https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17_IWkM_uDkFzOzR0xdic-eFfhT2w-3BH.
Schools we did not cover
We focused on the city’s three largest school districts, but there are several other districts in the area: Liberty, Cinnabar, Dunham, to name a few. Because of the small size of these districts, their staffs, and the communities they serve, we excluded them from our analysis. There are also a number of private and religious schools in the area that are not publicly funded.
Corrections: The original article suggested that Healthy Petaluma is funded by tax revenues. This information was corrected on 4/16/26 at 9:39 p.m. The original article also indicated that Elece Hempel has served on the board of Healthy Petaluma since 2025. The article was corrected on 4/17/26 at 4:41 pm. to clarify that she has served on the board since 2012 and started her most recent term in 2025.