Schools
Center Cass Officials Get Pay Raises
The increases follow the passage of a tax hike and a teachers union contract that included raises.
DARIEN, IL – The top officials at Center Cass School District 66 are getting pay raises when the new budget year starts July 1.
At a meeting last month, the school board approved increases ranging from 3 percent to 6 percent.
Superintendent Andrew Wise, the highest paid official, has not seen a pay increase in two years. This July, his salary increases to $214,000, from $206,000.
Find out what's happening in Darienfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In November, Center Cass voters narrowly approved a nearly 20 percent increase on the district's part of the property tax bill. A month later, the school board voted for a new teachers union contract, including annual raises for three years.
Before the referendum, the district froze administrators' pay, describing its financial situation as dire. Afterward, the freeze was lifted.
Find out what's happening in Darienfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The list of raises for next year does not include Mark Pagel and Emily Lech, principals of Prairieview and Elizabeth Ide elementary schools, respectively. Neither is returning next school year. Pagel is retiring, and Lech is resigning. Pagel received a retroactive increase to $142,000, from $134,000, going back to last July.
Here are the salaries for Center Cass School District 66 administrators:
| Name/title | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | % increase |
| Andrew Wise, superintendent | $206,000 | $214,000 | 3.9% |
| Mark Orszula, Lakeview Junior High principal | $124,000 | $127,720 | 3% |
| Kimberly Liles, director of learning | $122,800 | $126,500 | 3% |
| Sean Rhoads, director of student services | $118,750 | $123,500 | 4% |
| Tom Tiede, director of transportation | $87,500 | $92,750 | 6% |
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