The average salary for certified employees, a category that includes both teachers and administrators, at both Riverside Brookfield High School and Lyons Township High School is more than $100,000.

 At RBHS the average base pay, for the 2022-23 school year, was $104,093, while it was $118,614 at LTHS. 

The Landmark is using 2022-23 salary data in this story because state law requires all public-school districts in Illinois to annually post an administrator and teacher salary and compensation report on the district’s website, if it has one, so that anyone can find out, if they choose to, how much a district is paying each teacher and administrator. School districts are required to post the previous year’s data in the fall so this year’s salary data won’t be posted until next fall. 

All area school districts covered by the Landmark have complied with that law other than Lyons School District 103, which has posted on its website the administrator and teacher salary and benefit report for the 2020-21 school year. 

District 103 school Supt. Kristopher Rivera did not immediately respond to an inquiry from the Landmark asking why more recent compensation reports are not posted on the district’s web site as required by law.

The reports show that many teachers at RBHS and LTHS earn more than $100,000 in a year. At LTHS, 183 teachers made more than $100,000 during the 2022-23 school year while at RBHS, which is less than half the size of LTHS, 56 teachers made more than $100,000 during the 2022-23 school year.

At RBHS, the average pay for a teacher was $94,594 while average administrator pay was $133,861.

Not many teachers in the elementary school districts covered by the Landmark made more than $100,000. Fourteen teachers in Riverside Elementary School District 96 made more than $100,000. Five teachers in LaGrange School District 102, which includes the southwest portion of Brookfield, made more than $100,000. Only one teacher each in Brookfield-LaGrange District 95 and Komarek School District 94 made more than $100,000. 

The average salary for a teacher or administrator in District 96 was $78,780, compared to $68,943 in District 95 and $61,599 at Komarek.

The highest-paid teacher at RBHS in 2022-23 was English teacher Larry Forberg, who made $156,823.81. 

Teacher pay is based on seniority and levels of education. Forberg, a highly respected teacher, started at RBHS in 2001 and is retiring at the end of this school year.  Teacher contracts often call for salary boosts for teachers who will soon retire. These special raises, beyond regular raises, boost a teacher’s pension, which is paid by the state.

Computer Science teacher Sandy Czajka, who also serves as an assistant athletic director, was the next highest-paid teacher at RBHS, making $152,543. 

Special Education teacher Paul Petrik was the highest-paid teacher at LTHS during the 2022-23 school year, earning $170,042.41.

The highest-paid local superintendent in the 2022-23 school year was District 95’s Mark Kuzniewski, who will retire at the end of the 2024-25 school year. Kuzniewski made $242,698 during the 2022-23 school year. LTHS Supt. Brian Waterman earned $247,200, while RBHS Supt. Kevin Skinkis earned $232,463. District 96 Supt. Martha Ryan-Toye made $212,273, while District 102 Supt. Kyle Schumacher, who retired at the end of last year, made $168,750 and Komarek’s Todd Fitzgerald, the least experienced superintendent in the area, made $164,530.

The highest-paid principal in the area was LTHS Principal Jennifer Tyrell, who made $176,800 in the 2022-23 school year. S. E. Gross Middle School Principal Ryan Evans, who will succeed Kuzniewski as superintendent when Kuzniewski retires after working under Kuzniewski in a new role next year, made $145,324 in 2022-23 while RBHS principal Hector Freytas was paid $146,865. L.J. Hauser Junior High School principal April Mahy made $128,114. 

Correction 2-21-24: Because of information supplied to Landmark, the salaries for Principal Ryan Evans and for Supt. Mark Kuzniewski were misstated. The story has been updated with the correct figures. We apologize for the error.