NORMAL - The most experienced and educated District 87 teachers are among the highest paid in the state, according to an annual statewide salary survey - a finding that doesn't surprise district officials who say it reflects D-87's commitment to hire, and retain, top-quality instructors.

The Illinois Teacher Salary Study of 2006-2007, compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education, shows District 87's top salary, $80,238, is one of the highest in the state for experienced teachers with a master's degree plus 30 to 32 credit hours.

This year, District 87 teachers who have worked at least 28 years and have a master's degree plus 48 credit hours will earn $85,308 in salary, according to the district. Those 30 teachers - out of a teaching staff of 400 - earn more than Chicago Public School teachers and most other districts around the state at the top of their salary scale.

At the same time, McLean County is home to another school district, Colfax-based Ridgeview, that pays one of the best starting salaries in the state among districts its size, and more than some larger districts.

In general, most school districts in the Pantagraph area pay their teachers more than the state average, according to the study. While the highest salary in Unit 5, $72,831, is below District 87, it is about $10,000 more than the average statewide salary at the top of the pay scale.

Comparing salary figures among school districts is often an apples and oranges exercise. One can't assume where teachers can earn the most money, and the biggest school districts don't necessarily offer the highest pay, according to the study.

For example, Ridgeview, one of the smallest districts in the state, has one of the highest starting salaries in the area - higher than both District 87 and the much larger Unit 5.

Last year, Ridgeview's starting salary for teachers with a bachelor's degree was $32,929. Of 111 K-8 public school districts of the same size (between 500 and 999 students), Ridgeview had a higher starting salary than 99 of them. The highest was $37,794 in Villa Grove District 302 in Douglas County.

Ridgeview made a commitment to increase salaries around 1998 as part of an effort to attract and retain the best teachers, said Ridgeview Superintendent Larry Dodds.

Topping $80,000

Meanwhile, District 87 is among only 15 in Illinois - the rest are mainly in suburban Chicago - whose salary scale topped out at more than $80,000, according to the survey.

A few, including Naperville, Monmouth-Roseville and Plainfield, exceed $90,000. Lake Forest, a fast-growing district 30 miles from Chicago, offered $105,244 - the top salary in the state study.

"Teachers with experience and extra education tend to have a higher impact on student achievement," said Barry Reilly, District 87's assistant superintendent for human resources. "We think our people are paid fairly, and we want to do that to get the best."

"All along as a district, we've always tried to hire the best and encourage teachers to continue with us," added Janet Smith, District 87 board president.

Unit 5 tries to do the same. While teachers there start with lower salaries than many area districts, overall wages compare "pretty well," said John Pye, Unit 5 assistant superintendent of operations/human relations. He said the district's goal is to attract the best teaching candidates, be a desirable place to work and offer competitive salaries.

One local teacher, Tani Schrift, who leads a second-grade class at Oakland Elementary School, is happy with the pay and benefits she receives from District 87. She has taught in Kansas, North Carolina, Virginia and Oregon during the last 19 years, moving to the Twin Cities with her husband, who works at Illinois State University.

She said Illinois schools pay just as well, if not better, than districts in other states where she has worked. Other advantages include having previous teaching service recognized on the salary schedule - something not all districts do - and having opportunities and support as she works toward a master's degree in reading at ISU.

Neither Reilly nor District 87 teachers' union president Jim Patton expect the district's approach to salaries to change as they prepare for a new contract talks next year. The current three-year contract ends in 2008.

Decisions, decisions

Salaries are one of several factors that determine where teachers end up teaching - and how much they make, said area educators. Other reasons include:

- A district's proximity to colleges and universities that allow teachers like Schrift to more easily further their education and climb the salary schedule;

- A community's cost of living and its amenities: It's less expensive to live in a smaller community, but that community might not have the same quality-of-life opportunities as a bigger community like Bloomington-Normal;

- Family considerations; teachers may switch districts for a spouse's job.

"Salary and benefits don't seem to be the biggest motivator to most teachers," said Reilly, adding that a school's work environment, chance for advancement, and its "culture" also play roles.

And being in a center of higher education - via ISU, Illinois Wesleyan University, Heartland Community College and the University of Illinois only 45 minutes away - is another plus.

"It's a benefit for those teachers who want to advance their education. They can save thousands of dollars," said Reilly and other educators, referring to tuition waivers teachers can receive.

Location's impact is apparent in some districts. At Pontiac Township High School, about 65 teachers educate 900 students. Even though it is a small district, it must offer salaries comparable to those in larger, more urban areas, such as the Twin Cities, Kankakee and Joliet.

A starting Pontiac high school teacher with a bachelor's degree is earning $34,147 this year - higher than both D-87 and Unit 5, and slightly higher than Ridgeview. At the top of the salary scale (21 years, a master's and 32 credit hours) PTHS teachers earn $77,486, not that far behind District 87.

"You have to be competitive," said Superintendent Leo Johnson, noting that some PTHS teachers live in Bloomington-Normal. If Pontiac's salaries weren't competitive, it would difficult to attract teachers from that community or others, he said, adding teachers can always commute or move.

Better than average

In Illinois, the median salary for new teachers with a bachelor's degree in 2006-07 was $27,163. The median is an average - half the teachers make more than that amount and half make less. In Stanford-based Olympia, the starting salary was $30,107, according to the study. It was $31,393 in Unit 5 and $32,884 in District 87 for teachers with a bachelor's degree.

Last year, the median salary for teachers at the top of the pay scale in Illinois was $63,437. In Olympia, the scale topped out at $66,994. In Unit 5, the top salary on the scale was $72,831 and in District 87, it was $80,238, according to the study.

While administrators in both Twin City districts say they would like to see more diversity among teacher applicants, there is no shortage of prospects.

Unit 5 gets 1,200 teacher applications every year. Champaign District 4, a comparably-sized district, used to get about 700, but it's in the thousands now because of the ability to apply online. Both districts have hired about 100 teachers in recent years in response to retirements and growth.

While there are salary grids, some teachers make more and others make less than the scale for various reasons. Starting off, some just-graduated teachers work as teacher's aides or substitute teachers, often up to 35 hours a week, and make less than $13,000 a year.

Other teachers exceed the salary levels with "extras," such as stipends for coaching sports, mentoring other teachers, obtaining a Ph.D., getting their National Board Teacher Certification, or early retirement incentives.

"We had a teacher make $94,000 last year," said Dodds, the Ridgeview superintendent, in part because of a retirement incentive.

Of the 30 District 87 teachers who earn at least the maximum salary, 20 earn more than that amount - 18 because they are getting 6 percent extra in the final three years before retirement and two for coaching. That means 5 percent of the district's full-time teachers exceed the salary schedule.

"You have to look at the entire salary, not just the beginning," said Reilly, agreeing with other educators that teachers who make careers of being in the classroom tend to do well in Central Illinois.

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By the numbers

$80,238: District 87's top salary in 2006-07; median top pay in state was $63,437

$72,831: Unit 5 district's top salary in 2006-07; starting pay was $31,393

$32,929: Ridgeview starting pay; state's median Year 1 pay in 06-07 was $27,163

$37,794: Highest starting salary in Illinois, in Villa Grove District 302

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Illinois Teachers 101

- In 2006-07, there were 127,010 full-time and part-time Illinois teachers.

- Men account for less than one-quarter of teachers in Illinois.

- Minorities account for about 15 percent of the teaching force.

SOURCE: Illinois State Board of Education