Staff Increases At Elmhurst District 205

ELMHURST, IL – Although enrollment has fallen slightly over the last decade, Elmhurst School District 205 has more employees this year than last.

According to the latest numbers, the district has 1,191 employees, 17 more than the previous year.

Since the 2020-2021 year, the staff has increased by 52 employees, or 4.6 percent.

From 2013 to 2022, the district's enrollment fell by 1.7 percent.

At Monday's school board meeting, Chris Whelton, assistant superintendent of finance, said the district has added three assistant elementary school principals this year.

He said they were added to promote instructional leadership, more staff development and increased student outcomes.

Because of the successful launch of all-day kindergarten, the district also needed to increase its full-time kindergarten teaching staff, Whelton said.

The district is adding two campus supervisors to improve supervision at York High School, he said.

The number of special education and custodial employees also saw increases.

This year, the budgeted payroll jumped to $90.4 million, from $80.6 million four years ago. Over the last couple of years, inflation has risen to historic levels.

For years, board member Jim Collins has called into question increases in the district's staff as enrollment has fallen.