The top 20 highest-paid teachers in Cobden SUD 17 each earned more than $56,000 in total compensation in 2014, according to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
The amount reflects teachers' full adjusted pay -- a calculation that includes benefits and all pension contributions by taxpayers for each teacher, and reflects a full year of work instead of the nine months teachers actually worked.
Records show that in 2014, Shannon L. Guardian, a reading teacher at Cobden Elementary School at 413 N. Appleknocker St., received $73,351.01, the highest full adjusted pay among all teachers in the district.
Included in that amount was $25,551.01 in taxpayer-funded benefits, $23,946.58 in retirement benefits, and $1,604.43 in other benefits.
Overall, the total amount Cobden SUD 17 spent on its 20 highest paid teachers in 2014 was $1,337,690.30.
Cobden SUD 17 had 45 teachers in 2014.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2014 Census American Community Survey, the median household income for Illinois was $57,444 in 2014.
ISBE is responsible for administering public education in Illinois and consists of nine board members appointed by the governor and approved by the Senate.
*Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly noted the teacher benefits data was from fiscal year 2015 when it was actually from fiscal year 2014. We have updated the story accordingly.