Nightmare on Waukegan Road: Runaway Administrative Spending
Runaway admin spending. Classrooms should come first.
This Halloween, come inside Lake Forest’s Administration Center. Trick or treat? Depends which office you’re in.
Lake Forest Administrative Spending Grew About 29% in Three Years
UP ABOUT 29%
Parents Care’s corrected estimates show annual administrative spending across Districts 67 and 115 rose from approximately $7.51 million in FY2021–22 to $9.66 million in FY2024–25.
That is approximately $2.15 million more in annual administrative spending. The estimates use Parents Care’s broader definition of central and school administration. Figures are rounded and not adjusted for inflation. Read the corrected spending analysis.
D67 parents have brought class-size concerns to the board. The more we commit to administration, the less room we leave for teachers and classrooms.
That’s Scary: Front Office Versus Front of Classroom
$122,366
Superintendent’s executive assistant District-reported estimated annual salary · 2026–27
$57,444
Beginning D67 teacher Annual base salary · Bachelor’s degree, Step 1 · 2026–27
More than twice a new teacher’s base pay. No fun-size treats in the front office.
Sources: D67 compensation report, Tiana Tolver row and D67 teacher agreement, Appendix A, printed page 65. Different roles and work calendars; salary figures exclude benefits.
That’s Spooky: A Retention Incentive Bigger Than a Teacher’s Starting Salary
Superintendent Matthew Montgomery is already under contract through June 2028.
$64,160
Projected annual retention incentive · 2026–27
A bonus for staying. Bigger than a new teacher’s salary. That is $6,716 more than a beginning D67 teacher’s $57,444 annual base pay.
The contract says stay. The bonus says pretty please.
This is the projected annual incentive, paid in two installments; the second requires a commitment to serve the following school year. It is not confirmation of a paid payroll amount. Sources: Montgomery contract §§1, 5 and 7A and D115 Board Policy 3:50.
Also in Administration: Jordan Salus’s Total Compensation
Chief Technology Officer Jordan Salus: $352,079.00 in total compensation.
Compensation total supplied by Parents Care.
Even the Office Coffee Has a Rental Agreement
$125 a month in rent under the district’s 2023 Bravilor Sego office-coffee agreement. Coffee and supplies are billed separately. Read the agreement, page 2.
JUST ADD WATER.
$1,827.05 for a coffee-machine water-line installation, separately recorded under West Campus maintenance and paid in November 2023.
The D115 payment register, page 12 does not identify the Sego unit; the installation is presented as a separate record, not added to a machine purchase price.
Curb the Overhead. Back Our Teachers. Put Classrooms First.
Halloween ends. The bills keep coming.
Our boards should explain the growth in administrative spending—and show how they will protect classroom staffing, teacher time and student learning.
District 67: boed67@lfschools.net District 115: boed115@lfschools.net.
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The Receipts: Sources and Notes
Administrative spending: Parents Care’s corrected published estimates, central and school administration, FY2021–22 to FY2024–25. The approximately $2.15 million is the increase in annual spending between the two years, not cumulative spending over the period.
Classroom context: D67 April 21, 2026 board minutes, public participation, records parents’ class-size concerns.
Salary comparison: D67 teacher agreement, Appendix A and D67 2026–27 compensation report. Teacher pay is BA Step 1 base salary; the assistant figure is estimated annual salary. Roles and work calendars differ; benefits are excluded.
Retention calculation: approximately $401,000 projected 2026–27 base × 16% = approximately $64,160 annual incentive under the superintendent’s contract and D115 Policy 3:50. Two installments; the second is conditional on next-year commitment. Projected, not confirmed paid.
Jordan Salus: $352,079.00 total compensation supplied by Parents Care. This is total compensation, not a base-salary-only comparison.
Coffee records: August 2023 office-coffee agreement, page 2; November 2023 payment register, page 12. Rental, supplies and the separately recorded water-line installation are distinct costs.
Halloween satire · AI-assisted editorial artwork.
