As Illinoiscitizens struggle with the severe economic downturn plaguing the state, Illinois public school employees enjoy another record year of salaries, fringe benefits and pensions. In 2011 an amazing 14,866 public school employees made more than $100,000, up 18% from 2010’s 12,588.
See Top 100 Teachers Salary here in Excel 2010 format.
See Top 100 Teachers Salary here in PDF format.
Apparently there is no tax money for the barren shelves at food pantries or the lack of beds at homeless shelters or to support the handicapped. But there IS enough tax money to pay for:
- A Phys. Ed teacher $203,154 for a 9 month work year.
- 14,866 teachers made more than $100,000 in 2011.
- 21 who made more over $1,000/day ($170,000/yr.)
- A Drivers Ed teacher who salary is $18,222/month to teach teenagers how to parallel park.
- 13 teachers make more than the Governor’s $177,500.
- Top 100 Teachers average $18,169 per month salary ($163,579/yr).
And all of that is for a 36-week work-year (182 day contracts).
These Top 100 Salaries Do Not Include Massive Amounts of Fringe Benefits.
Add about $48,000 each for state pension contribution (30% of salary) and at least $7,500/yr health insurance benefits. Then include 15 days sick leave payable at retirement if not used, 2 personal days/yr and up to $300,000 payment to the Teachers Retirement System by the local school district if they decide to take early retirement (see “Anatomy of a Teachers Contract” here).
And what is the value of a guaranteed $100,000 job (called “Tenure”) for as long as you want it?
| $100,000 Teacher Salaries By Subject Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2011 | ||
|
Subject |
2011 High Salary |
Greater $100K 2011 |
| Art |
179,660 |
213 |
| Automotive Repair |
175,122 |
24 |
| Cabinet maker |
146,295 |
21 |
| Clothing/Apparel |
131,620 |
8 |
| Drama |
179,660 |
30 |
| Drive Ed |
166,658 |
143 |
| Elementary Education |
161,104 |
1006 |
| English |
174,300 |
545 |
| Foodservice |
135,997 |
17 |
| French |
176,600 |
55 |
| Latin |
135,912 |
10 |
| Librarians |
155,546 |
53 |
| Music |
182,686 |
284 |
| Nurse |
136,166 |
35 |
| Phys Ed |
203,154 |
760 |
| Radio and TV Broadcasting |
154,413 |
15 |
Nineteen (19) of the Top 100 teachers retired with pensions in excess of $100,000.
Should public employees who average a mere 32 years of 9 month work retire at an average age of 57 with an average payout of $3.7 million? On average, these people will receive their entire contribution back in less than 20 months.
No one in their right mind thinks this kind of public payout is fair, reasonable or guaranteed by the constitution.
Here’s the list:
2011 Teacher Retirees With Beginning Pensions Over $100,00
| Name | School District |
Age |
First Year Pension |
Years Work in IL |
Sick Leave Service |
School ERO Contrib |
|
|
|
1 |
Sebald, D | LeydenCHSD 212 |
57 |
127,88 | 32 | 2.000 | – | |
|
2 |
Oddo, L | NewTrierTWP HSD |
58 |
122,26 | 32 | 2.000 | – | |
|
3 |
Kay, B | Community HSD 155 |
56 |
117,77 | 32 | 1.909 | – | |
|
4 |
Filippo, A | Lake ForestCHSD 115 |
56 |
117,04 | 34 | 2.000 | – | |
|
5 |
Gasper, K | Highland Park 113 |
57 |
116,84 | 32 | 2.000 | – | |
|
6 |
Kirwan, J | HinsdaleTWP HSD 86 |
56 |
113,93 | 32 | 2.000 | – | |
|
7 |
Nihells, R | LakePark CHSD 108 |
55 |
111,93 | 33 | 2.000 | – | |
|
8 |
Kaplan, S | Highland Park 113 |
65 |
111,53 | 29 | 2.000 | – | |
|
9 |
Lagesse, G | ThorntonTWP HSD |
58 |
109,23 | 34 | 2.000 | 13,336 | |
|
10 |
Scahill, J | DuPage HSD 88 |
56 |
108,80 | 33 | 2.000 | 29,17 | |
|
11 |
Ratajczyk, B | Highland Park 113 |
57 |
107,58 | 32 | 2.000 | – | |
|
12 |
Fischer, S | LakePark CHSD 108 |
57 |
107,41 | 32 | 2.000 | –
|
|
|
13 |
Richards, E | Lake ForestCHSD 115 |
57 |
106,30 | 35 | 2.000 | – | |
|
14 |
Vanko, J | LeydenCHSD 212 |
55 |
106,23 | 32 | 2.000 | – | |
|
15 |
Blazevich, R | NorthfieldTWP 225 |
60 |
105,94 | 36 | 2.000 | – | |
|
16 |
Zizzo, G | LakePark CHSD 108 |
58 |
104,93 | 27 | 2.000 | 62,07 | – |
|
17 |
Vogel, D | LakePark CHSD 108 |
58 |
103,55 | 33 | 2.000 | – | |
|
18 |
Cantor, I | NilesTWP CHSD 219 |
60 |
102,75 | 28 | 2.000 | – | |
|
19 |
Koval, K | LakePark CHSD 108 |
55 |
100,22 | 31 | 1.776 | 188,84 | – |
Notice several things about this list:
- The years actually worked in IL, boots on the ground, only averages 32 years as compared to leaving college, working 40 years and retiring at age 62 with a maximum $22,000 Social Security pension. That is not even mentioning the fact that these multi-millionaires only worked 9 months a year for those brief 32 years.
- The sick leave column shows how teachers accumulate sick-leave years and use them as actual work years. This taxpayer scam adds up to about 157,000 years – see here.
- The “School ERO Contrib” column shows the amounts local taxpayers pay to allow the teacher to retire on full pension before she is eligible. Note number 19, Ms. Karen Koval, a dance teacher, received a taxpayer funded $188,837 so she could retire early. That is in addition to her salary of $165,888 for a taxpayer total of $354,725 which allows a dance teacher to retire with a pension that will payout $3.4 million over her expected lifetime.
- The last column shows two teachers (numbers 9 and 10) with amounts in the “School Excess Sick Leave Contrib.” Column. This is paid by the taxpayers for sick-leave days GIVEN to the teacher as part of the contract. Because that increase pension costs for absolutely no reason the local taxpayer must send money to TRS to partially (not fully) cover the ensuing pension costs.
Public education in IL is of the teachers, by the teachers and for the teachers.
Why do taxpayers have to pay these outrageous salaries and benefits?
Since the purpose of taxes is to “provide for the common good”, please explain to me what common good is “provided for” by making public employees millionaires? I would suggest that school districts that can afford to pay compensation of this magnitude should be paying for their own pensions rather than throwing it on the backs of all the state taxpayers. Doing that would save the state $1.6 billion a year. We cannot control teacher pensions unless we control teachers’ salaries.
The “wealth transfer” progressives’ talk about is not from the rich to the poor but from everyone to the public employees. There would be billions more dollars available for the poor if public employee compensation were equal to the private sector – and without raising taxes.
SOURCES: Teacher Retirement System,IllinoisStateBoard of Education.
