Families watching Oak Park and River Forest High School's budget will find a new data point worth tracking: the district's average administrator salary climbed 7.5% in a single year to $161,378, pushing District 200 to 28th-highest in Illinois.
The figures, drawn from Illinois State Board of Education data for the 2024-25 school year, show a sharp upward trajectory. A decade ago, District 200 ranked 59th statewide. The ranking bounced between the 30s and 50s for several years before jumping from 49th in 2024 to 28th this year.
District 200's average administrator pay now sits 30.5% above the state average of $123,642. The category includes superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals, directors of special education and chief school business officials.
Budget context
The salary climb arrives as the district navigates tightening finances. The FY2027 tentative budget, approved by the school board under Board President Audrey Williams-Lee on Aug. 20, projects an operating surplus of just over $900,000 but a total net deficit of nearly $7.5 million when capital expenditures, including the new physical education wing, are factored in. Cash reserves are expected to drop from roughly $45.5 million to $38 million by June 30, 2027.
Overall district salaries are projected to rise about $2.4 million, or 4.2%, in FY2027, driven largely by the new teachers contract. The board's final budget adoption vote is scheduled for Sept. 24.
The district's five-year projection shows operating deficits of roughly $2 million in fiscal years 2027-28 and 2028-29, rising to around $4.5 million in 2029-30 and 2030-31. Director of Finance Brian Imhoff, speaking at the Aug. 6 board meeting as reported by the Wednesday Journal, warned that special education outplacement costs alone are projected to jump 18% this year. "All it takes is one or two students with severe needs to blow up the budget," Imhoff said.
How D200 compares
The average District 200 teacher earned $115,217 in 2024-25, making administrator pay 40.1% higher than teacher pay, according to separate ISBE data reported by West Cook News. Statewide, administrator salaries grew 11.1% over the five years ending in 2024-25, while teacher salaries grew 15.3% over the same stretch.
New Trier Township High School District 203 topped the state at $200,839 in average administrator pay.
District 200 enrolled 3,276 students in 2024-25, yielding a student-to-administrator ratio of 133-to-1, slightly below the statewide ratio of 136-to-1. The district has not announced any agenda item addressing administrator compensation; the next scheduled meeting with budget implications is the Sept. 24 final adoption vote.
