By Greg Halbleib
A state financial watchdog says the large number of six-figure salaries and pensions for Illinois teachers and administrators gets a failing grade.
Adam Andrezjewski of Open the Books found more than 30,000 active or retired public school employees earn at least $100,000 annually. He said nearly 12,000 of those people are retired.
“You can’t provide a public education for children if you’re funding a massive education bureaucracy,” Andrezjewski told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin. “If you take a look within the school districts at the top 10 salaries and pensions, it’s oftentimes the majority of those payouts are pensions and not even salaries.”
In District 87, Open the Books reports 22 salaries and 12 pensions pay six figures, while in Unit 5, 30 people receive at least $100,000, evenly split between salaries and pensions.
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Andrezjewski said powerful teachers unions have made the school pension system unsustainable.
“These educators should be stripped of their right to strike,” Andrezjewski said. “They cannot hold our children hostage in the classroom when they go for even higher-paying pensions and benefits. Right now they can strike and that’s the card that keeps all of this flowing.”
Andrezjewski criticized state lawmakers for approving higher minimum teacher salaries instead of reforming pensions.
An interactive map displaying the number of six-figure salaries is at OpenTheBooks.com.
Greg Halbleib can be reached at [email protected].
