Tech school funding questioned, again

The $213,000 salary of the Lake County High Schools Technology Campus executive director is sparking a call for more financial oversight.

Warren Township high school district board members said they were surprised Linda Jedlicka earns more than superintendents of large high school districts and has had four pay hikes of 5 percent with a 10 percent boost since the 2003-04 academic year. They now want a say in the school that receives public tax dollars to operate.

Gurnee-based Warren District 121 officials last month sent a letter to the technology campus, suggesting elected school representatives fill some posts on the governing board.

Michael Penich, a District 121 board member, said elected officials would be more directly accountable to taxpayers than the high school superintendents who now fill 18 of those 20 seats.

"That technology campus is superior. It's wonderful. That's not my problem. My problem is, who's minding the store?" Penich said. "We made those concerns quite evident to the superintendents who sit on the technology campus board."

Jedlicka defended her pay, and the tech campus' board leader said the criticism is off target.

With only 1,700 students and 67 employees on the tech campus, Jedlicka said numbers don't tell the whole story. She said the job requires her to keep tabs on money flowing to the tech campus from 18 member schools in McHenry and Lake counties.

"No one said to me, other than the Warren board, 'You make too much,' " she said.

Jay Sabatino, the tech campus' board president and superintendent of Antioch-Lake Villa High School District 117, said he's heard the concerns and disagrees. He said the superintendents on the tech campus board understand the need to be careful with spending.

"I say, this (tech campus) is an important component of my district's education," Sabatino said.

Schools from Lake and McHenry counties contribute various amounts of taxpayer money to the tech campus, which has a $7.7 million education fund budget for the academic year. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, for example, typically sends about $170,000 to the tech campus annually.

Teenagers attend classes in cosmetology, machine shop, culinary arts, building trades and computer-aided drafting on College of Lake County's grounds near Grayslake.

Penich said he didn't know Jedlicka was earning $213,388 in base salary until he began seeking detailed tech campus budget information late last year. He questioned how her pay grew to eclipse superintendents at much larger high school districts.

"It appalls me," Penich said.

By comparison, Warren Superintendent Phil Sobocinski has a $183,422 base salary -- about $30,000 less than Jedlicka -- at a system with 4,191 pupils and 287 certified staff members.

Jedlicka's base will rise to $257,459 in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 academic years, documents show. She'll drop to $210,000 in the 2010-11 school season under a deal approved by the tech campus' board of control last month, representing a 22.5 percent reduction.

One reason Jedlicka said she agreed to the pay cut was she'll end her career at the tech campus and get the maximum state Teachers Retirement System pension with 35 years of service. She and Sabatino said the reduction was not a reflection of her performance.

"It's a win-win situation, although it might not look like it," Jedlicka said.

Penich said Warren should send letters to all elected Lake County high school board members to learn if they favor having a role in the tech campus' financial oversight.

"We're asked to fund it, yet we have no direct say," he said.

This wasn't the first time Warren board members questioned tech campus over finances.

In late 2006, the tech campus requested all member schools to pitch in for $2.4 million in building repairs and improvements.

After receiving a presentation from Jedlicka, Warren officials asked for more information and delayed a decision for three months before approving a $380,000 contribution spread over 10 years.

Warren board member Richard Conley at one point suggested higher tech campus student fees might be a more appropriate funding source for the project.

Lake County High Schools Technology Campus was established by referendum in 1973 to fulfill the need for a vocational school. It receives public money, but isn't a taxing body.

Total superintendent packages

The following is a sample of total pay packages -- including any retirement contributions, bonuses, purchased annuities and unused sick days -- for high school superintendents from the 2006-07 academic year.

• Timothy Kanold, superintendent at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire: $292,166. Enrollment: 4,466

• Linda Jedlicka, executive director of Lake County High Schools Technology Campus near Grayslake: $230,675. Enrollment: 1,700

• Phil Sobocinski, superintendent of Warren Township High School in Gurnee: $220,824. Enrollment: 4,191

• David Clough, superintendent of Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District: $220,000. Enrollment: 3,090

• David Schuler, superintendent of Arlington Heights-based Northwest Suburban High School District: $210,176. Enrollment: 12,648

Source: Illinois State Board of Education, most recently available data