Lombard School District 44 administrators averaged $136,688 in the 2024-25 school year, 40% more than the district's average teacher salary of $97,608.

The $39,080 gap comes from Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) data reported by A J Winkler of the DuPage Policy Journal on Tuesday, Aug. 25. District 44 serves elementary students in Lombard.

That 40% premium places SD44 in the middle of the pack among local districts.

Glen Ellyn Community Consolidated School District 89 posted the widest local split at 66.7%, with administrators averaging $156,663 against $93,974 for teachers, as we reported Aug. 11. Glen Ellyn School District 41 showed a 69.6% gap, with administrators at $151,848 and teachers at $89,558, according to a separate DuPage Policy Journal report.

At the other end, Glenbard Township High School District 87 had the narrowest local gap at 11.1%. Teachers there averaged $131,606, just $14,630 less than the $146,236 administrator average, as we reported earlier in August.

No public comment from District 44 officials on the salary data was available as of Aug. 27.

Statewide, teacher salaries grew 15.3% over the five years ending in 2024-25, outpacing the 11.1% growth in administrator pay over the same period, according to ISBE data. Nearly 3,900 teaching positions were unfilled statewide during the 2024-25 school year, and 87% of school leaders reported minor to serious difficulty recruiting teachers, according to workforce surveys cited in the report.