The top 20 highest-paid teachers in Elverado CUSD 196 each earned more than $41,000 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, Cindy Pierce, a teacher at Elverado High School at P.O. Box 130, received $52,753.13, the highest full adjusted pay among all teachers in the district.
No benefits were included in that amount.
Overall, the total amount Elverado CUSD 196 spent on its 20 highest-paid teachers in 2014 was $893,411.44.
Elverado CUSD 196 had 42 teachers in 2014.
According to the U. S. Census Bureau's 2014 Census American Community Survey, 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.