The top 20 highest paid teachers in La Salle ESD 122 each earned more than $78,000 in total compensation in 2014, according to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
The amount reflects teachers' full adjusted pay — a calculation which includes benefits and all pension contributions by taxpayers for each teacher, and reflects a full year of work instead of the nine months teachers actually worked.
Records show that in 2014, Lori Jean Brodzik, a teacher at Lincoln Jr High School located at 1165 St. Vincents Ave., received $99,573.75, the highest full adjusted pay among all teachers in the district.
Included in that amount was $23,385.02 in taxpayer-funded benefits, $11,692.51 in retirement benefits, and $11,692.51 in other benefits.
Overall, the total amount LaSalle ESD 122 spent on its 20 highest paid teachers in 2014 was $1,777,905.60.
LaSalle ESD 122 had 65 teachers in 2014.
According to the United States Census Bureau's 2014 Census American Community Survey (ACS), the median household income for Illinois was $57,444 in 2014.
ISBE is responsible for administering public education in Illinois and consists of nine board members appointed by the governor and approved by the Senate.
*Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly noted the teacher benefits data was from fiscal year 2015 when it was actually from fiscal year 2014. We have updated the story accordingly.