By Dan McLeister
For The Elmhurst Independent
School District 205 Superintendent David Moyer recently discovered that administrators in Elmhurst, with few exceptions, are currently at or near the bottom in total compensation compared with the traditional comparison districts of Barrington, Naperville, Indian Prairie, St. Charles, Geneva and District 200 (Wheaton-Warrenville).
He said the Board of Education had told him that over a period of two years, before he came in July 2015, it had been looking into the issue of administrative compensation in District 205 without resolution.
Since he came, Moyer has studied both internal and external compensation data utilizing the annual Large Unit District Association (LUDA) Salary Surveys from 2013-14 and 2014-15 to access information from other districts.
“I considered a wide variety of factors as I sorted through the information such as the Elmhurst teacher pay scale, daily rate, length of contract, experience, degrees, titles, size of school or district, and any other factors I could access to try to ensure that the information I have compiled is as close to an ‘apples to apples’ comparison as possible,” he said.
The School Board voted 7-0 that, beginning July 1, 2016, the administrator compensation structure range will be:
- Chief Financial Administrator, $156,000 to $168,000;
- High School Principal, $155,000 to $167,000;
- Assistant Superintendent, $143,-070 to $155,070;
- Middle School Principals, District Directors, $117,000 to $129,000;
- Elementary Principals Group A (Emerson, Field, Hawthorne, Lincoln), $110,500 to $123,500;
- High School Assistant Principals, $110,500 to $123,500;
- Elementary Principals Group B (Fischer , Jackson, Madison) $105,500 to $117,500;
- Elementary Principals Group C (Edison, Jefferson), $100,500 to $112,500;
- District Coordinators, $100,500 to $112,500;
- Middle School Assistant Principals, $81,500 to $90,500.
“The total recommended increase is about $121,000 more than we would have normally paid out,” Moyer said. “We have the ability to place new hires in a range, as well as provide opportunities to incentivize people to stay in the District.”
“This is something that the Board has been asking for over the last several years,” said School Board member Emily Bastedo. “I appreciate the fresh perspective that you brought, Dave.”
Jim Collins, vice president of the Board, noted that there are 388 unit school districts in Illinois. Only seven unit districts invest less in administration than District 205.
“That is not the right end of the curve to be on,” he said. “We’ve had a high turnover in our administration in recent years. The way to have a great school district is to be able to attract and retain good people. This plan may not be perfect, but it’s better than doing nothing, so I think we’ve off to a good start.”
Board member Karen Stuefen indicated ”the community and staff have expressed that they want stability in our leadership.” She thanked Superintendent Moyer for making the new salary structure happen.
