Eight Rye City school employees earned salaries of more than $200,000 in 2024, with one raking in over $320,000, school district records show.
Former Superintendent of Schools Eric Byrne was the top earner of the school district’s 500 employees in the 2024-25 academic year, collecting $327,000. Byrne, who spent seven years running Rye schools, was first hired in 2017 at an annual income of around $260,000.
Byrne is now the interim superintendent for the school district in Darien, Conn., for the 2025-26 school year.
His income marked the only school district employee that topped $300,000. For 2024, all school district salaries totaled roughly $56 million. That number spikes to $84 million when accounting for benefits, school budget data show.
The Record received the information as part of a Freedom of Information Law request for all school district employee salaries for the 2024-25 academic year, which ends on June 30. The FOIL did not include employee benefits.
Assistant Superintendent for Business Gabriella Perrucio was the second-highest earner in 2024, collecting $241,000. Patricia Murray, the new superintendent of schools was a close third, earning $238,000 as the assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
Murray succeeded Byrne on July 1 and is scheduled to earn $297,000 in her first year as superintendent of schools, a bump of $59,000.
The Board of Education approved Murray’s promotion in April following a six-month search. She first came to the Rye school district in 2021.
No school district employee is scheduled to earn more than $300,000 in 2025, financial records show.
The remaining employees who eclipsed $200,000 included Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Leadership Brian Alm, who earned $238,000; Director of Pupil Personnel Services and Special Education Erin Vredenburgh, who netted a $219,000 income; Rye Middle School Principal Joseph Digiovanni, recently promoted to assistant superintendent of schools for human resources, who earned $209,000; Osborn School Principal Angela Garcia, who had a salary of $205,000; and Athletics Director Susan Reid Dullea, who collected $204,000.
Rye High School Principal Andrew Hara took home $176,000 in 2024, prorated since he did not join the district until August. Hara would have made $212,000 if he had spent the entire school year, which starts on July 1, in Rye.
Because of the proration, Hara earned just the 17th highest salary of all employees, behind Midland School Principal James Boylan and Milton School Principal Annemarie Delucia-Piekarski, who collected incomes of $199,000 and $194,000, respectively.
Katrina Smith, the middle and high schools’ science department coordinator, was the highest-earning teacher in the school district, collecting more than $184,000.
Of the top 100 school district salaries, the bottom 15 all earned just over $150,000 and included teachers in special education, physical education, art, math, science, English, and elementary education.
Cody Blume, the newly-minted high school assistant principal, didn’t even crack the top 100 in 2024, earning roughly $134,000 for his position as a social studies teacher at the high school. Blume, who will step into his new administrative role in July, will see his salary jump to $180,000 annually.
Blume is succeeding Assistant Principal Christina Cannon, who made $179,400 in her final year with the district. Cannon has since left to pursue other professional opportunities, according to district officials.
Assistant Principal Eunice Chao-Forest made $100,200 — prorated from $185,000 — since she only joined Rye High School in November.
