School superintendents often make more money than governors. They are courted and recruited like free agent sports stars. And if your school system isn't looking for one now, wait a bit - it probably will be.

Just ask Aiken County, which found out weeks ago that longtime Superintendent Linda Eldridge plans to retire this summer.

Aiken now joins Richmond County in pursuit of a school system chief, and experts say the cost of such leadership is rising.

Bill Symons, a salary consultant with Chicago-based BWP & Associates, worked with South Carolina's Kershaw County to fill its vacancy and said the average salary for even a modest system such as Kershaw is around $150,000 a year. Kershaw County, a midsize school district in the Carolina Midlands, serves about 10,000 students.

Being a public school superintendent is a difficult job, he said.

"It's harder to find really good people who are willing to take on the challenge," Mr. Symons said in a telephone interview.

That challenge in Aiken County is to find someone responsible for more than 24,000 students and 3,200 employees. That job made Dr. Eldridge the overseer of the area's largest employers.

That's probably why she commanded $158,000 a year, and while it did put her pay ahead of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, it trailed her counterparts in Columbia and Richmond counties.

Columbia County Superintendent Tommy Price locked in at $161,000 for this past school year, and Dr. Charles Larke, who recently retired in Richmond County, was paid $278,000 for his last year of service.

The salaries that school superintendents can command are rising quickly.

In 2000, Dr. Eldridge had the fourth-highest superintendent salary in the state at $126,000. Today, her pay without benefits still out-earns Mr. Sanford at $106,000 and state Education Superintendent Jim Rex at $92,007. But now, she's the seventh highest-paid superintendent.

Smaller districts such as Beaufort County on the South Carolina coast recently set the bar near $200,000 for a candidate, and Kershaw County just signed a new superintendent at $165,000, including benefits. If smaller districts make strides to push salaries higher, Aiken County could play catch-up in the future just to stay competitive, industry observers say.

"It's a reflection on the whole," said Dr. John Bradley, an Aiken school board member. "It's not just salaries; we're one of the poorest-funded school districts. If you don't get the money to start with, you have less to spend on everything."

A superintendent's job demands are very much like those of the CEO of a major company, said Molly Spearman of the state Association of School Administrators. She said that as job demands grow, the trend of growing salaries will have to follow.

"The larger, faster-growing districts require a larger skill set and you'll see those salaries in the $200,000 range. In the largest school districts in the country, salaries are closer to $300,000 and $400,000," she said.

Dr. Bradley said past school boards decided to give superintendents cost-of-living increases instead of an overall raise in order to spend more money on other administrative positions. Promotions from within the district also keep costs within the current budget.

"We've gotten criticism from locals about these high, outlandish salaries we pay, but our people are typically underpaid," Dr. Bradley said. "Our beginning teachers are the only ones who are competitive statewide."

Because Dr. Eldridge's position opened up during budget approval, looking into a raise for her successor will likely enter into budget discussions. The board already agreed to keep a 3 percent cost-of-living increase for the superintendent position for next year.

The board will not discuss any information on the superintendent search until its May 8 meeting, including how to search for a replacement or salaries.

"If Aiken had to do a search, they would probably have to raise the salary to the $175,000 to $200,000 range," Mr. Symons said.

Reach Julia Sellers at (803) 648-1395, ext. 106, or julia.sellers@augustachronicle.com.