Akin CCSD 91 in Akin receives $681 per student from the state to fund pensions for public school teachers and administrators – the most in North Egypt, according to a Wirepoints analysis of Teacher Retirement System data.
At the bottom, Farrington CCSD 99 in Bluford receives $290 per student.
Wirepoints examined the system in which school districts pay salaries to teachers and administrators, but not pensions, which are funded by state tax dollars.
"It’s a scheme that allows districts to spend more money on salaries and perks than they otherwise would," Wirepoints reported. "Wealthy districts – like those on the North Shore – benefit far more from the state’s pension payments than poor districts do."
Almost 50 percent of what the state pays toward education has gone to teacher pensions in recent years, according to Wirepoints. Bigger pensions in wealthy districts means there’s less money to adequately fund districts with less property wealth.
Akin CCSD 91, which relies on the state for 14 percent of its revenue and spends $13,185 per student, ranks 129 out of 848 districts for how much the state provides per student toward pensions.
Farrington CCSD 99 relies on the state for 57 percent of its revenue and spends $7,236 per student. It ranks 846th in the state.
The analysis shows Rondout SD 72 in Lake County received the biggest subsidy in the state and Earlville CUSD 9 in LaSalle County received the smallest subsidy.
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North Egypt districts receiving state-provided pension subsidies
| District | County | City | Average daily attendance | Percent of district revenue provided by the state | EAV (taxable property) per student | District spending per student | State-provided pension subsidy per student* |
| Akin CCSD 91 | Franklin | Akin | 85 | 14% | $532,265 | $13,185 | $681 |
| Benton Cons HSD 103 | Franklin | Benton | 514 | 37% | $175,908 | $12,533 | $584 |
| Mt Vernon Twp HSD 201 | Jefferson | Mount Vernon | 890 | 72% | $375,521 | $14,784 | $561 |
| Zeigler-Royalton CUSD 188 | Franklin | Zeigler | 538 | 68% | $42,522 | $11,086 | $536 |
| Ewing Northern CCSD 115 | Franklin | Ewing | 179 | 47% | $112,172 | $10,558 | $504 |
| Woodlawn Unit School District 209 | Jefferson | Woodlawn | 465 | 43% | $72,603 | $9,921 | $484 |
| Mount Vernon SD 80 | Jefferson | Mt Vernon | 1,440 | 43% | $120,809 | $11,720 | $484 |
| Christopher USD 99 | Franklin | Christopher | 722 | 62% | $41,472 | $9,999 | $483 |
| Frankfort CUSD 168 | Franklin | West Frankfort | 1,548 | 62% | $56,491 | $10,367 | $466 |
| Sesser-Valier CUSD 196 | Franklin | Sesser | 611 | 58% | $48,159 | $9,427 | $452 |
| Opdyke-Belle-Rive CCSD 5 | Jefferson | Opdyke | 167 | 51% | $99,862 | $9,979 | $417 |
| Thompsonville CUSD 174 | Franklin | Thompsonville | 293 | 55% | $63,884 | $8,306 | $411 |
| Summersville SD 79 | Jefferson | Mt Vernon | 239 | 52% | $98,955 | $8,050 | $410 |
| Bethel SD 82 | Jefferson | Mt Vernon | 157 | 40% | $124,068 | $9,170 | $405 |
| Rome CCSD 2 | Jefferson | Dix | 304 | 61% | $98,324 | $7,973 | $401 |
| McClellan CCSD 12 | Jefferson | Mt Vernon | 66 | 44% | $194,607 | $8,108 | $400 |
| Benton CCSD 47 | Franklin | Benton | 1,081 | 54% | $89,385 | $8,103 | $397 |
| Waltonville
CUSD 1 | Jefferson | Waltonville | 326 | 45% | $85,111 | $9,454 | $395 |
| Spring Garden CCSD 178 | Jefferson | Mt Vernon | 231 | 55% | $98,484 | $9,165 | $384 |
| Field CCSD 3 | Jefferson | Texico | 248 | 65% | $105,610 | $7,996 | $379 |
| Grand Prairie CCSD 6 | Jefferson | Centralia | 84 | 54% | $110,830 | $8,261 | $355 |
| Bluford Unit School District 318 | Jefferson | Bluford | 367 | 56% | $73,075 | $8,280 | $304 |
| Farrington CCSD 99 | Jefferson | Bluford | 72 | 57% | $89,981 | $7,236 | $290 |
*Proxy of the pension subsidy provided to each school district. District subsidy is calculated by taking the TRS employer normal cost in 2017 ($871 million) and multiplying it by each district's share of TRS total employee earnings. To calculate the subsidy per student, each district's share is divided by their average daily attendance.
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