Venice CUSD 3 in Venice receives $723 per student from the state to fund pensions for public school teachers and administrators – the most in Metro East, according to a Wirepoints analysis of Teacher Retirement System data.
At the bottom, O'Fallon CCSD 90 in O'Fallon receives $355 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.
Venice CUSD 3, which relies on the state for 28 percent of its revenue and spends $18,838 per student, ranks 104 out of 848 districts for how much the state provides per student toward pensions.
O'Fallon CCSD 90 relies on the state for 24 percent of its revenue and spends $8,353 per student. It ranks 803th 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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Metro East 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* |
| Venice CUSD 3 | Madison | Venice | 114 | 28% | $83,437 | $18,838 | $723 |
| East Alton-Wood River CHSD 14 | Madison | Wood River | 459 | 17% | $328,495 | $14,363 | $624 |
| Roxana CUSD 1 | Madison | Roxana | 1,756 | 10% | $266,186 | $12,378 | $598 |
| Grant CCSD 110 | St Clair | Fairview Heights | 525 | 28% | $205,506 | $12,570 | $582 |
| East St Louis SD
189 | St Clair | East St.
Louis | 4,836 | 60% | $18,792 | $17,298 | $572 |
| Belleville Twp HSD 201 | St Clair | Belleville | 4,256 | 29% | $359,599 | $12,285 | $558 |
| Lebanon CUSD 9 | St Clair | Lebanon | 570 | 24% | $128,651 | $11,413 | $552 |
| Brooklyn UD 188 | St Clair | Lovejoy | 122 | 36% | $30,855 | $20,674 | $541 |
| Madison CUSD 12 | Madison | Madison | 659 | 56% | $36,184 | $12,178 | $532 |
| Cahokia CUSD 187 | St Clair | Cahokia | 3,138 | 61% | $21,337 | $14,612 | $523 |
| Signal Hill SD 181 | St Clair | Belleville | 344 | 40% | $108,777 | $9,560 | $508 |
| O Fallon Twp HSD 203 | St Clair | OFallon | 2,244 | 22% | $388,238 | $11,196 | $500 |
| East Alton SD 13 | Madison | East Alton | 811 | 44% | $71,381 | $9,462 | $493 |
| Marissa CUSD 40 | St Clair | Marissa | 546 | 46% | $64,331 | $9,960 | $491 |
| Pontiac-W Holliday SD 105 | St Clair | Fairview Heights | 675 | 13% | $356,061 | $10,533 | $481 |
| Freeburg CHSD 77 | St Clair | Freeburg | 606 | 17% | $409,215 | $11,354 | $480 |
| Belleville SD 118 | St Clair | Belleville | 3,659 | 48% | $90,071 | $10,934 | $467 |
| Central SD 104 | St Clair | OFallon | 560 | 13% | $263,031 | $9,815 | $465 |
| Alton CUSD 11 | Madison | Alton | 5,678 | 33% | $119,387 | $11,446 | $455 |
| Triad CUSD 2 | Madison | Troy | 3,436 | 31% | $126,920 | $8,691 | $451 |
| Smithton CCSD 130 | St Clair | Smithton | 494 | 26% | $182,349 | $8,506 | $450 |
| Dupo CUSD 196 | St Clair | Dupo | 983 | 53% | $60,379 | $9,468 | $450 |
| Freeburg CCSD 70 | St Clair | Freeburg | 729 | 22% | $200,143 | $8,409 | $448 |
| Millstadt CCSD 160 | St Clair | Millstadt | 774 | 14% | $227,769 | $9,625 | $448 |
| Collinsville CUSD 10 | Madison | Collinsville | 6,006 | 37% | $115,734 | $9,597 | $447 |
| Mascoutah CUD 19 | St Clair | Mascoutah | 3,476 | 38% | $69,306 | $10,010 | $445 |
| Wolf Branch SD 113 | St Clair | Swansea | 768 | 15% | $233,368 | $9,537 | $444 |
| Harmony Emge SD 175 | St Clair | Belleville | 765 | 26% | $166,614 | $10,887 | $440 |
| Granite City CUSD 9 | Madison | Granite City | 5,689 | 42% | $81,907 | $9,747 | $438 |
| Bethalto CUSD 8 | Madison | Bethalto | 2,225 | 45% | $87,118 | $9,408 | $438 |
| New Athens CUSD 60 | St Clair | New Athens | 477 | 22% | $130,700 | $9,770 | $433 |
| Whiteside SD 115 | St Clair | Belleville | 1,168 | 31% | $195,289 | $9,014 | $432 |
| Wood River-Hartford ESD 15 | Madison | Wood River | 679 | 29% | $145,301 | $9,088 | $431 |
| Belle Valley SD 119 | St Clair | Belleville | 921 | 39% | $97,822 | $9,982 | $431 |
| Highland CUSD 5 | Madison | Highland | 2,716 | 29% | $132,336 | $9,117 | $410 |
| St Libory Cons
SD 30 | St Clair | St Libory | 78 | 31% | $159,590 | $8,434 | $406 |
| Jersey CUSD 100 | Jersey | Jerseyville | 2,310 | 33% | $131,313 | $9,579 | $393 |
| Shiloh Village SD 85 | St Clair | Shiloh | 566 | 35% | $145,809 | $8,360 | $392 |
| Edwardsville CUSD 7 | Madison | Edwardsville | 7,011 | 16% | $172,937 | $9,190 | $379 |
| High Mount SD 116 | St Clair | Swansea | 466 | 42% | $94,205 | $8,351 | $370 |
| O'Fallon CCSD 90 | St Clair | O'Fallon | 3,341 | 24% | $182,964 | $8,353 | $355 |
*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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