Administrative jobs aplenty in Dist. 26

In the Daily Herald article “Survey: District 26 administrators underpaid” on Oct. 13, Cary Elementary District Superintendent Brian Coleman claims that the average salaries of Dist. 26 administrators are less than those in surrounding districts of Huntley District 158, Crystal Lake District 47 and Fox River Grove District 3. However, according to the Illinois State Board of Education website a comparison of the number of administrators as a percentage of the total staff members, administrators and teachers, reveals the following:

Cary Dist. 26: 11 administrators/143 total number of administrators and teachers (7.7 percent); Fox River Grove Dist. 3: 3/46 (6.5 percent); Huntley Dist. 158: 36/600 (6.0 percent); Crystal Lake Dist. 47: 35/705 (5.0 percent.)

From this data it shows that Cary Dist. 26 has the highest percentage of administrative staff in this comparison group. One solution might be for Dist. 26 to eliminate two or three of their administrative positions and then the remaining staff could divide up those salaries among themselves. This will definitely increase their average salary.

Cary Dist. 26 is obviously a very small school district. An even better solution would be to consolidate this district with another one in the area. This would eliminate most if not all of the Dist. 26 administrative positions while retaining the teaching positions. The same can be said for Dist. 3. This would provide for a less costly and more efficient education system for the local taxpayers.

Hopefully the lieutenant governor’s “Classroom First Commission” that is supposedly addressing the issue of consolidating school districts will realize that situations like this need to be eliminated.

No teaching positions are eliminated but the costly duplication of administrative activities can be reduced if not eliminated.

Ken Hofrichter

Elk Grove Village