On January 13, 2025, we at North Cook News sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to Ridgewood Community High School District 234 in Illinois. The request was specifically about the number of non-U.S. citizens, often referred to as "migrants" or "illegal aliens," currently enrolled in the school district.
As part of our commitment to providing comprehensive and accurate news coverage on local governmental affairs, we believe that access to such public records is essential for fulfilling our professional responsibilities. These include holding public institutions accountable and providing transparency to the public.
In addition to this specific request, we also highlighted our role as media professionals involved in gathering and reporting news to the public. Given this role, we expressed our belief that we are eligible for a fee waiver for this information request.
According to the Illinois Report Card, the average state teacher salary in 2023 was $73,916, and the state average Administrative Salary was $116,908. The average student-to-administrative ratio is 141:1, and the average student-to-teacher ratio is 17:1. Interestingly, 58% of teachers in Illinois have a master's degree or higher.
We will continue our work at North Cook News to provide you with accurate information about local governmental affairs and look forward to sharing more insights from this FOIA request once it has been processed by Ridgewood Community High School District 234.
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