Carbondale Reporter

Murphysboro High School has shared several updates and insights regarding the education landscape in Illinois through a series of tweets on January 23, 2025. The posts provide data on teacher salaries, administrative ratios, and teacher shortages across the state, as well as specific information about Murphysboro Community Unit School District 186.

In a tweet posted at 18:02 UTC, Murphysboro High School provided information from the Illinois Report Card stating that "the average state teacher salary in 2023 was $73,916, and the state average Administrative Salary was $116,908." Additionally, it highlighted the student-to-administrative ratio of 141:1 and a student-to-teacher ratio of 17:1. It was also noted that "58% of teachers in Illinois have a master's degree or higher." The tweet can be accessed here.

Later at 18:17 UTC, another tweet detailed findings from the Educator Shortage Survey. It mentioned that there are "3,694 teacher positions filled by alternative measures" such as substitutes and retired educators. Furthermore, it stated that "4,096 teaching positions were unfilled for SY24 at a vacancy rate of 3.0%," with "91% of school leaders indicating a minor, serious, or severe problem with teacher shortages." This post is available here.

A subsequent tweet at 18:21 UTC focused on specifics about Murphysboro Community Unit School District 186. It reported that the district has "147 total teachers earning an average salary of $53,770," with no teachers having more than ten absences in a school year. Demographically, the district is composed of "69 percent White, 15.9 percent Black, 7.1 percent Hispanic," among others. Additionally, it was noted that Murphysboro Community Unit School District spent "$19,142 per student in 2020," with "130 'chronically truant' students enrolled in the same year." The complete details can be found here.