Six full-time staff for every student – Is teacher salary the only bone of contention in River Forest district 90?

Teachers in River Forest, IL district 90 showed up to work again this week without a contract, and while teacher salary is one predictable barrier, a second may be administrative bloat as student enrollment declines.

The River Forest Education Association (RFEA) co-presidents Lauren Baiocchi and Cindy Crannell are leading the charge for increasing teacher compensation.  Baiocchi is a third-grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary and Crannell a STEM teacher at Willard Elementary.

The ISBE website reports average district 90 teacher salary as $77,630 or 2% above the state average $75,978.  Publicly available Individual salary reporting can be found here and here.  Within these salary numbers are uncertainties on benefits, union dues, and pension payments that impact take-home pay.

On the other side of the negotiating table is superintendent Ed Condon, the district 90 board, and their lawyers. Condon joined the district in 2011. He oversaw a period of blue ribbons and academic prominence among suburban Chicago public schools until 2016 when board president Ralph Martire elevated social programs over curriculum and instruction.  At that point Condon chose his paycheck over defending a history of academic excellence, and the district went sideways. 

According to the ISBE website the average salary among district 90 administrators is $170,664 compared to the state average $119,384. That is a 42% difference, and a bone of contention with teachers earning just 2% above state average. In 2024, Condon’s total compensation was $336,324.28 and he was awarded 26 days of vacation along with 22 sick days.  Illinois law mandates 176 days of student attendance as of 2025.

District records from 2024 show nine district 90 employees labeled “Administrator” with a combined compensation in 2024 of $1,945,539.  The district’s Director of Communications was paid $111,707 and the Director of Technology $192,292.

River Forest population grows and district 90 enrollment declines

The total estimated population of River Forest, IL grew by almost 10% since 2019 according to datacommons.org sources.  District 90 Annual Statement of Affairs filings show the number of full time district 90 employees grew by almost 12% in the same period.  The same filings show student enrollment in district 90 fell by 9% since 2019. 

While the salaries of administrators compared to teachers is in dispute, it seems the number of salaries in district 90 may be a less obvious but good topic for residents to bone-up on.

Are teachers telling us something?

Teachers in River Forest district 90 have been notoriously difficult to completely cancel or silence. None yelled from the treetops when a rogue board elevated social programs above curriculum and instruction; instead, they did use the Five Essentials survey to suddenly rate their leadership among the worst in the state. Now might be another time to listen close and here is why.

The chart below comes from the district’s Resident Friendly financial report and shows declining average teacher salary when corrected for inflation. Twice in the report, the explanation for declines are teachers “replaced by teachers paid lower”.  In 2020 it was seven “highly compensated, veteran teachers” who abruptly brought the average down. Seven leaving at once in this small district? Keeping teachers is one thing, and with recent history there is the problem of attracting them.

Taken from district 90 Resident Friendly financial report.

The RFEA social media page doesn’t get specific about the details of the impasse. One specific post said “If we pay our teachers only the state average, we can’t expect to retain or attract top talent”.  Teachers may be telling us something about the quality of candidates the district is able to attract and hire. Time will probably tell and hopefully history doesn't repeat here.

The board members that steered local Oak Park and River Forest schools into this social experiment said Evanston was their example. So far the failure points of these de-tracked districts are mapping each other: adopting unproven curricula, upset teachers, confused residents, academic decline, declining enrollment. Residents of River Forest can hope signing bonuses won't be needed to attract top talent.

It's E3 where equity still means fairness.

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