The top 50 highest-paid teachers in Wheeling CCSD 21 each earned more than $132,000 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, Lorelei Paceperry, a special education teacher at Booth Tarkington Elementary School at 999 W. Dundee Road, received $171,862.67, the highest full adjusted pay among all teachers in the district.
Included in that amount was $40,948.39 in taxpayer-funded benefits, $13,582.72 in retirement benefits, and $27,365.67 in other benefits.
Overall, the total amount Wheeling CCSD 21 spent on its 50 highest-paid teachers in 2014 was $7,252,280.90.
Wheeling CCSD 21 had 490 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.