The number of administrators and teachers in Illinois public schools has increased while the number of students has declined. Illinois is adding administrators faster than teachers.
By Hannah Schmid | Illinois policy Institute
Illinois public schools are educating more than 125,000 fewer students than they were in 2000 but have continued to hire more administrative staff and teachers.
Adding staff could be justified if student proficiency were rising. But it’s not. Illinois students’ reading and math proficiency has trended downwards despite the increase in teachers and administrators.
It seems the Illinois public school system may be more determined to provide jobs for adults than educations for students.
Administrator growth outpaces teachers as enrollment declines
Between 2000 and 2023, the number of administrators in Illinois public schools increased 55%, outpacing the 8% increase in the number of teachers. The dramatic increase in administrators and teachers came as the number of students enrolled in Illinois public schools dropped 6%.
In the 1999-2000 school year, Illinois public schools employed 8,315 administrators. That number increased to 12,929 by the 2022-2023 school year, the most recent year for which the Illinois State Board of Education has published data.
The number of teachers increased by over 10,500 during that same period, from 124,279 to 134,817.
As the state spent more on administrators and teachers, enrollment in public schools steadily declined. Between 2000 and 2023, student enrollment dropped 6%, or more than 125,000 students.
Read more here.
I wonder how D220 is doing on this issue. If the taxpayers do nothing the public unions will make the school districts simply a political patronage jobs program. (Already is in some districts/CPS.)