Lake Forest High School families attend a district where administrators earn more than those in all but nine other Illinois school districts.
Administrators in Lake Forest Community High School District 115 averaged $183,395 in salary during the 2024-25 school year, ranking 10th highest statewide, according to Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) data reported by the Lake County Gazette. That figure is 48.3% above the state average of $123,642.
The ranking represents a sharp rise. A decade ago, District 115 sat 31st in the state at $139,180. The climb accelerated after 2022, when the district ranked 33rd at $151,293. By 2023 it had jumped to 13th at $170,183.
Salary growth accelerates
The 2025 average was 6% higher than 2024's $173,043 and 7.8% above 2023. Over the three years from 2022 to 2025, District 115 administrator pay rose roughly 21%, nearly double the statewide five-year increase of 11.1% reported by ISBE.
District 115 also employs more administrators relative to its student body than most Illinois districts. With 1,348 students enrolled in 2024-25, the district had a student-to-administrator ratio of 62-to-1. The statewide average is 136-to-1. That ratio has tightened from 82-to-1 in 2016.
ISBE defines administrators as superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals, directors of special education and chief school business officials. All must hold a Professional Educator License endorsed in an administrative field.
Local comparisons
District 115's average administrator pay also exceeds the two other local districts. Lake Bluff Elementary School District 65 averaged $158,665 and Lake Forest School District 67 averaged $156,304 in 2024-25, per ISBE data. New Trier Township High School District 203 topped the state at $200,839.
District 115's average teacher salary was $134,845 in 2024-25. Administrators earned roughly 36% more than teachers on average.
Statewide context
State Superintendent Tony Sanders said during an Aug. 7 briefing on ISBE's fiscal year 2027 funding distribution, as reported by NPR Illinois, that rising labor costs are pushing districts further from adequacy targets. "The increases in salary costs, though, do push districts further away from adequacy," Sanders said.
No public response from District 115 regarding the ranking data appears in available records as of publication.
