Geff CCSD 14 in Geff receives $482 per student from the state to fund pensions for public school teachers and administrators – the most in Southeast Illinois, according to a Wirepoints analysis of Teacher Retirement System data.
At the bottom, Eldorado CUSD 4 in Eldorado receives $349 per student.
Wirepoints examined the system in which school districts pay salaries to teachers and administrators, but not pensions, which are funded by state tax dollars.
"It’s a scheme that allows districts to spend more money on salaries and perks than they otherwise would," Wirepoints reported. "Wealthy districts – like those on the North Shore – benefit far more from the state’s pension payments than poor districts do."
Almost 50 percent of what the state pays toward education has gone to teacher pensions in recent years, according to Wirepoints. Bigger pensions in wealthy districts means there’s less money to adequately fund districts with less property wealth.
Geff CCSD 14, which relies on the state for 67 percent of its revenue and spends $9,620 per student, ranks 412 out of 848 districts for how much the state provides per student toward pensions.
Eldorado CUSD 4 relies on the state for 61 percent of its revenue and spends $9,341 per student. It ranks 814th in the state.
The analysis shows Rondout SD 72 in Lake County received the biggest subsidy in the state and Earlville CUSD 9 in LaSalle County received the smallest subsidy
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Southeast Illinois districts receiving state-provided pension subsidies
| District | County | City | Average daily attendance | Percent of district revenue provided by the state | EAV (taxable property) per student | District spending per student | State-provided pension subsidy per student* |
| Geff CCSD 14 | Wayne | Geff | 101 | 67% | $53,338 | $9,620 | $482 |
| North Wayne CUSD 200 | Wayne | Cisne | 417 | 48% | $63,455 | $9,242 | $471 |
| New Hope CCSD 6 | Wayne | Fairfield | 168 | 55% | $96,732 | $8,608 | $457 |
| Carrier Mills-Stonefort CUSD 2 | Saline | Carrier Mills | 398 | 61% | $44,864 | $9,116 | $455 |
| Allendale CCSD 17 | Wabash | Allendale | 121 | 51% | $93,839 | $8,532 | $433 |
| Galatia CUSD 1 | Saline | Galatia | 393 | 42% | $102,860 | $8,426 | $424 |
| Fairfield PSD 112 | Wayne | Fairfield | 625 | 57% | $88,271 | $9,368 | $420 |
| Fairfield Comm HS Dist 225 | Wayne | Fairfield | 401 | 44% | $216,388 | $9,479 | $407 |
| Harrisburg CUSD 3 | Saline | Harrisburg | 1,866 | 55% | $67,823 | $9,347 | $404 |
| Carmi-White County CUSD 5 | White | Carmi | 1,345 | 39% | $92,393 | $8,467 | $392 |
| Gallatin CUSD 7 | Gallatin | Junction | 733 | 50% | $81,630 | $8,746 | $390 |
| Grayville CUSD 1 | White | Grayville | 299 | 55% | $55,794 | $8,864 | $387 |
| Edwards County CUSD 1 | Edwards | Albion | 887 | 56% | $70,548 | $7,948 | $385 |
| Wayne City CUSD 100 | Wayne | Wayne City | 495 | 47% | $73,234 | $9,278 | $384 |
| Wabash CUSD 348 | Wabash | Mt Carmel | 1,406 | 46% | $84,037 | $8,134 | $382 |
| Jasper CCSD 17 | Wayne | Fairfield | 165 | 59% | $61,211 | $9,927 | $376 |
| Hamilton Co CUSD 10 | Hamilton | McLeansboro | 1,167 | 51% | $59,680 | $8,542 | $368 |
| Norris City-Omaha-Enfield CUSD 3 | White | Norris City | 643 | 59% | $74,406 | $8,179 | $354 |
| Eldorado CUSD 4 | Saline | Eldorado | 1,084 | 61% | $51,723 | $9,341 | $349 |
*Proxy of the pension subsidy provided to each school district. District subsidy is calculated by taking the TRS employer normal cost in 2017 ($871 million) and multiplying it by each district's share of TRS total employee earnings. To calculate the subsidy per student, each district's share is divided by their average daily attendance.
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