Big Pay Raise For La Grange Highlands Superintendent

LA GRANGE, IL – The superintendent of La Grange Highlands School District 106 is receiving more money this budget year.

Last month, the school board increased John Munch's salary to $215,000, up from $192,600 last year, a 12 percent increase, according to the district.

This week, the raise drew criticism from Tamara OReilly, a retired District 106 teacher and a local resident.

"It's very disappointing," O'Reilly said in an interview.

Munch's contract lasts five years. In the later years, he is set to receive increases along with the consumer price index, with a floor of 3 percent and a ceiling of 4 percent, according to the district.

In an email to Patch, board President Andy Taylor said Munch's salary is lower than the average of 14 comparable districts, including those that feed into Lyons Township High School.

Taylor said the district undertook a comprehensive review of salary and benefits for every employee group.

"Our goal in the analysis and subsequent action was to bring each employee group up to the average of our comparable districts if they weren’t already in line with that average," Taylor said. "We expect this analysis and subsequent action will support our efforts to attract and retain the best staff for the district – teacher shortages are happening throughout the state, and the hiring environment remains difficult."

The board, Taylor said, recently approved a five-year contract with the teachers union, which gives an average increase of 10 percent in the first year. Other changes resulting from the analysis included increasing custodial and other support staff's salaries, along with giving teacher's aides health benefits, he said.

Taylor said the board has been pleased with Munch's performance over the past two years.

"We wish him to continue his excellent leadership of the district for the next several years and our work to engage him in a new contract reflects that desire," Taylor said.

This week, OReilly posted a statement about the superintendent's contract on Patch.

"This package comes on the heels of a teacher contract negotiation where Munch maintained that the district could not sustain giving the top-earning teachers equitable raises, and that after a certain dollar mark, the teacher salaries had to go off the salary schedule," said OReilly, who worked for more than three decades in the district.

She said the board did not act with the same restraint for administrator contracts as it did with the teachers union.

"It is irresponsible and insulting for the board to give such a vulgar raise to the superintendent at this time, and it is an inappropriate allocation of district resources," OReilly said in the post. "The teachers' union fought for a contract that was fair and sustainable, and the board and administration turned around and did the exact opposite with their contracts."

In 2021, Munch took charge of the district, which serves nearly 1,000 students. He replaced Amy Warke, who left under mysterious circumstances after a year and a half.

Munch started out with a salary of $180,000.