$300K For Burr Ridge D-180 Superintendent

BURR RIDGE, IL – Over the summer, Patch reported the superintendent of Burr Ridge School District 180's salary was $283,882.

That was the most updated information online at the time. Last month, the district released a compensation report showing that Superintendent Thomas Schneider made $299,495 last school year.

The raise was nearly $16,000. His pay works out to $622 a student; the district's latest enrollment is 481.

In August, Patch compared Schneider's pay to superintendents in the area. His was the highest.

The superintendent of Elmhurst School District 205, Keisha Campbell, is paid $225,000 a year. The district's enrollment is more than 8,000.

Tammy Prentiss, superintendent of Hinsdale High School District 86, makes $264,257, with an enrollment of about 4,000.

Schneider, who took his job 16 years ago, is set to retire next summer.

The school board's president, Amanda Frankel, supports Schneider's salary.

"He has been in the position for a very long time. It's not like he started last year," she said in an interview. "He does a lot of extra work on impact aid."

In a later email, Frankel said, "Dr. Schneider's salary reflects the board's commitment to quality leadership, including the myriad non-traditional responsibilities and relationships that our district requires from a superintendent. We're confident that we've accomplished greater gains for our student community not only through his innovativeness and skill as an educational leader, but also as a result of the longevity of his tenure."

The school gets money each year from the federal government – known as "impact aid" – because of Argonne National Laboratory, part of which is within the district's boundaries.

When the laboratory acquired the land more than seven decades ago, that meant a big loss in property tax money for local government bodies.

Schneider has taken leadership roles in two national groups of districts that push for impact aid.

In August, a Patch analysis showed Schneider took 24 trips over 2½ years around the country, mainly for the two groups' meetings. The district has spent $31,114 on the trips, with the groups picking up some of the costs.

During winters, he has gone to Las Vegas, New Orleans, Miami, San Diego, Tampa, Fort Myers and Orlando.