The highest-paid employee at any of Columbus's public schools or colleges is Columbus State University President Stuart Rayfield, who was paid $342,900 in the state's 2025 fiscal year. Muscogee County School District Superintendent David Lewis was next at $287,544.

Those figures come from Open Georgia, the state's public salary database. State law requires state agencies, public colleges and school districts to report what they pay every employee. Columbus Times went through the records for Columbus's three biggest public education employers: Columbus State University, the Muscogee County School District and Columbus Technical College.

The numbers cover the state's 2025 fiscal year, from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.

The top earners

Columbus State University

Columbus State reported 1,944 people on its payroll, including part-time workers and student workers. 142 of them were paid $100,000 or more.

After the president, the top earners were senior administrators and deans:

• Chief development officer: $223,342
• Chief operations officer: $212,121
• Chief external affairs officer: $196,500
• Highest-paid dean: $192,000
• Chief information officer: $190,322

What professors make: Half of Columbus State's full professors were paid more than $106,319. The middle (median) pay for associate professors was $83,542, and for assistant professors it was $76,998.

Muscogee County School District

The school district reported 5,535 employees, with total pay of about $247 million. 172 employees were paid $100,000 or more.

Superintendent David Lewis was the only district employee paid more than $200,000. Next came the district's top administrators:

• Human resources director: $166,282
• Plant operations director: $158,071
• Deputy and assistant superintendents: $144,193 to $156,918
• Finance director and technology director: $153,664 each

What teachers make: The district reported 1,754 employees with teaching titles. Their median pay was $59,487, and 15 of them were paid $100,000 or more. Median pay for high school teachers was $60,257.

Principals: The median was $116,537 across 57 principals.

Bus drivers: The median was $25,634. Many drivers work part-time or only part of the year.

Columbus Technical College

Columbus Tech President Martha Todd was paid $224,760. The college's vice presidents earned between about $120,000 and $135,000. Columbus Tech reported 400 employees.

Look up anyone yourself

Open Georgia is free and public. Go to open.ga.gov, choose "Salaries & Travel Reimbursement," and search by name, job title or organization. It also lists how much each employee was reimbursed for travel.

City of Columbus employees, including the mayor and police, are not in Open Georgia, which covers state agencies, public colleges and school districts.

How to read these numbers

Open Georgia reports what each person was paid during the year, not their official salary. Someone hired partway through the year shows a smaller number. Pay can also include extra duties, such as coaching or summer work. The medians in this story include part-time workers, so the typical full-time salary is somewhat higher.