Do School Budgets Shape Student Behavior?
- Annika OMelia
- Mar 6
- 9 min read
Updated: Mar 17
An Analysis of Rock Island’s Staffing and Spending
In recent months, concerns about student behavior at Rock Island High School have circulated widely in the community. Alongside those concerns, a number of theories have emerged about what might be driving the perceived changes in school climate.
One explanation that has surfaced repeatedly in my conversations is financial: the idea that district spending decisions—particularly the growth of administrative staffing—may have come at the expense of classroom instruction or student support services.
Because public schools rely on community trust, claims about financial mismanagement or an overly “top-heavy” administration deserve careful examination. These concerns have persisted in conversations around town and online, especially following the hiring of new district leadership.
Rather than speculate, I wanted to examine the district’s financial and staffing data directly to see what the numbers actually show.
This article is the first in a short series examining factors that may be influencing school climate in Rock Island. The focus of this first installment is staffing and personnel spending—two areas that can shape how schools function day-to-day.
To better understand how the district is structured and how resources are allocated, I reviewed several publicly available datasets, including:
The Rock Island–Milan School District Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFRs) from 2018 through 2025
The Illinois Annual Financial Report (AFR)
The 2025 EIS Administrator and Teacher Salary and Benefits Report
The IMRF Compensation and Benefits Report for district staff earning more than $75,000
Together, these sources allow for analysis of several key indicators:
Full-time equivalent (FTE) staffing by category
Changes in staffing levels over time
Spending across major personnel categories
Changes in spending patterns over time
Compensation levels for leadership and instructional staff
Where useful, comparisons with Moline School District are included to provide regional context.
The goal is not to assign blame for complex issues like student behavior, which are influenced by many factors both inside and outside schools. Instead, this analysis aims to ground the conversation in verified data—helping clarify how the district is staffed, how resources are allocated, and whether common claims about administrative growth are supported by the numbers.
In future articles, I will explore other possible influences on school climate, including student support systems, discipline policy, and broader trends affecting schools nationwide.
Introduction
Before turning to the staffing and spending data, it is useful to review some basic information about the district from the 2025 CAFR and to place those figures in context by comparing them with Moline.
Description | Rock Island | Moline |
Students | ~6,292 | ~7,185 |
Tax Base | ~526 Million | ~1.1 Billion |
Teachers | 467 | 492 |
Administration | 30 FTE | 38 FTE |
Teacher:Pupil Ratio | 13.47 | 14.6 |
Free & Reduced Lunch | 63% | 59% |
Cost Per Pupil | $13,722 | $14,630 |
Average Teacher Pay (coded as Teacher on salary report, not specials) | $82,277 | $84,624 |
Source: 2025 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Rock Island Milan and Moline
Part 1: Rock Island Staffing Trends (2018–2025)
The CAFR includes a table titled “Full-Time Equivalent District Employees by Type,” which tracks staffing across major categories.
Rock Island FTE Staffing by Category
Year | Instruction | Student Services | Administration/Supervisory | Support Staff |
2018 | 558 | 116 | 26 | 152 |
2019 | 563 | 122 | 26 | 165 |
2020 | 537 | 128 | 29 | 162 |
2021 | 540 | 132 | 28 | 153 |
2022 | 540 | 136 | 29 | 150 |
2023 | 546 | 134 | 29 | 162 |
2024 | 537 | 144 | 30 | 178 |
2025 | 537 | 144 | 30 | 178 |
Source: 2025 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Rock Island Milan
Instructional staff has decreased by ~ 20 FTE since 2018
Student services have grown by nearly 30 FTE since 2018
Administration has grown by 4 FTE since 2018
Support staff has grown by ~25 FTE
Because new district leadership came onboard in 2024, it is also useful to examine the most recent changes.
Rock Island FTE Change (2023 → 2025)
Category | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
Instruction | 546 | 537 | 537 | -9 |
Student Services | 134 | 144 | 144 | +10 |
Administration/Supervisory | 29 | 30 | 30 | +1 |
Support Staff | 162 | 178 | 178 | +16 |
Source: 2025 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Rock Island Milan
Between 2024 and 2025, the district’s overall staffing levels remained unchanged. However, more significant staffing changes occurred in FY2023, prior to the arrival of the new superintendent.
Of note, it is challenging to uncover how districts categorize each staff member. I recommend Rock Island adopt a more detailed FTE report in next year's CAFR like the one Moline School district uses.
Part 2: Rock Island Budget Trends (2019-2025)
Staffing patterns are only part of the picture. The CAFR also shows how the district allocates its budget.
Rock Island Milan Total Amount Per Year and as % of Total Budget
Year | Instruction ($) | Instruction % | Support Services ($) | Support % | Total Expenditures ($) |
2018 | $69,257,519 | 66.2% | $26,091,432 | 24.9% | $104,617,373 |
2019 | $73,284,889 | 66.6% | $27,172,434 | 24.7% | $110,078,790 |
2020 | $79,129,199 | 67.8% | $26,089,678 | 22.3% | $116,778,189 |
2021 | $85,315,030 | 68.3% | $24,567,057 | 19.7% | $124,877,704 |
2022 | $74,255,129 | 53.4% | $29,541,626 | 21.2% | $139,153,869 |
2023 | $77,630,996 | 52.5% | $30,764,945 | 20.8% | $148,014,142 |
2024 | $80,302,053 | 54.3% | $35,352,875 | 23.9% | $147,923,402 |
2025 | $81,502,068 | 57.5% | $39,348,751 | 27.7% | $141,759,369 |
Over the past seven years:
Instruction spending increased from roughly $69 million to about $81 million.
Support services spending increased from roughly $26 million to about $39 million.
Instruction spending as a percentage of total dropped 8.7% while support service spending increased 2.8%. Other expenses like community services and debt are not shown here but also influence the percentages.
Because administrative costs are not explicitly separated in the CAFR report, it is challenging to nail down the exact administrative costs out of the Support Services bucket.
The Annual Financial Report (AFR) provides another perspective on the district’s finances. Instructional spending appears lower in this report because pension costs, which are included as expenditures in the CAFR, are removed from the AFR calculations. For FY2025, the AFR shows the following figures:
District | Instruction ($) | Instruction % | Support Services ($) | Support % | Total Direct Disbursement Expenditures |
Rock Island | $54,917,676 | 63.21% | $24,205,332 | 27.86% | $86,879,559 |
Moline | $59,916,919 | 69.41% | $24,229,153 | 28.07% | $86,324,212 |
Source: 2025 Annual Financial Report for Rock Island Milan and Moline
As a percentage of direct disbursement expenditures, Moline is spending slightly more of the pie on instruction than is Rock Island.
Part 3: A Deeper Dive into Spending by Type
Instruction, Student Services, Support, Administration
Because the AFR and CAFR present spending at a relatively high level, I also reviewed additional personnel reports to better understand how staffing costs are distributed across the district. Each year the district submits an EIS Administrator and Teacher Salary and Benefits Report, as well as an IMRF Compensation and Benefits Report for employees earning more than $75,000. By filtering these reports in Excel, it is possible to approximate staffing costs by department. While neither report provides a complete picture of all district employees, they offer useful insight into compensation among higher-paid staff. It is also impossible to have staff positions line up between districts because each district uses slightly different labels.
EIS Administrator and Teacher Salary and Benefits Report
This report looks specifically at teachers and administrators.
Rock Island Milan School District
Role | Total | % of Total | Count | Average Salary |
Administration (Superintendents, General Admin) | $1,854,648.00 | 5% | 13 | $142,665.00 |
Principals/Assistant Principals | $2,891,817.71 | 7% | 23 | $125,731.00 |
Deans | $549,320.62 | 1% | 5 | $ 109,864.00 |
Teacher/Special/Speech/Instruction/Supervisors | $34,840,586.00 | 87% | 422 | $ 82,560.00 |
Total | $40,136,372.33 | 100% | 463 | $ 460,820.00 |
Moline School District
Role | Total | % of Total | Count | Average Salary |
Administration (Superintendents, General Admin) | $1,925,554.00 | 5% | 21 | $ 91,693.00 |
Principals/Assistant Principals | $2,524,231.00 | 6% | 20 | $ 126,212.00 |
Deans | $509,036.00 | 1% | 5 | $ 101,807.00 |
Teacher/Special/Speech/Instruction | $36,615,491.00 | 88% | 456 | $ 80,297.00 |
Total | $41,574,312.00 | 100% | 502 |
IMRF Compensation and Benefits Report
The IMRF report looks at professionals like custodians, building maintenance, IT, the executive secretary, communications, payroll, human resources and other professionals who are not educators or educational administrators.
Rock Island Milan School District
Role | Positions | Average Salary |
Information Tech | 5 | $87,488 |
Human Resources | 2 | $72,017 |
Communications | 1 | $79,515 |
Accounting/Payroll | 4 | $85,659 |
Athletic | 2 | $98,289 |
Building supervisor/Custodial | 22 | $57,453 |
Secretary/Clerical | 7 | $57,519 |
Misc (food, safety, nurse, driver) | 8 | $65,103 |
Moline School District
Role | Positions | Average Salary |
Technology/IT | 8 | $108,479.00 |
Human Resources | 3 | $68,996.00 |
Public Relations | 1 | $101,943.00 |
Payroll/Accounting Purchasing | 5 | $74,492.00 |
Facilities/buildings/custodial | 27 | $68,388.00 |
Administrative Assistant | 8 | $63,076.00 |
Misc (PT, OT, Registrar) | 5 | $82,249.00 |
Total Count and Spending for IMRF Report FY 2025
District | Positions | Total Spending |
Rock Island | 53 | $ 3,501,627.00 |
Moline | 57 | $ 4,305,814.00 |
Difference | 4 | $804,187 |
Rock Island Milan Highest Compensation in Admin
Please not these figures reflect the actual amounts paid in 2025, not contract amounts. So, if someone only worked part of a year, only what they were paid will show up.
Name | Position | Base Salary |
WILLIAMS, SHARON DENISE | 100-District Superintendent | $220,846.15 |
DIXON, RAMONA B | 107-General Administrator or General Supervisor | $159,947.00 |
FRANTZ, DEBRA LYNN | 121-Administrator in a Bilingual Education Program | $158,368.00 |
VANCE, WILLIAM SCOTT | 101-Assistant/Associate District Superintendent | $156,054.89 |
DASE, JEFFREY | 101-Assistant/Associate District Superintendent | $154,778.00 |
ALLEN, KRISTIN A | 107-General Administrator or General Supervisor | $147,860.00 |
CLARK, LANCE ROBERT | 107-General Administrator or General Supervisor | $147,860.00 |
WILLIAMS, LASHANTA | 121-Administrator in a Bilingual Education Program | $147,860.00 |
MAAG, DORIAN DAWN | 107-General Administrator or General Supervisor | $141,475.00 |
ANDEDO, LORELEI ROCHELLE | 107-General Administrator or General Supervisor | $120,005.00 |
MOORE, DOMINIQUE P | 101-Assistant/Associate District Superintendent | $106,168.65 |
COLBRESE, EGAN M | 101-Assistant/Associate District Superintendent | $26,333.38 |
| Total | $1,687,556.07 |
Moline Highest Compensation in Admin
Please not these figures reflect the actual amounts paid in 2025, not contract amounts. So, if someone only worked part of a year, only what they were paid will show up.
Name | Position | Base Salary |
Savage, Rachel Marie | 100-District Superintendent | $240,611.00 |
DeBaene, Matthew D | 101-Assistant/Associate District Superintendent | $168,791.99 |
Prybil, Brian D | 101-Assistant/Associate District Superintendent | $168,791.99 |
Sanders, Trista L | 101-Assistant/Associate District Superintendent | $159,310.00 |
Gallo, Vincent P | 114-Chief School Business Official | $154,125.00 |
DeTaeye, Todd J | 101-Assistant/Associate District Superintendent | $153,081.16 |
Terstriep, Erin S | 101-Assistant/Associate District Superintendent | $148,428.00 |
Peterson, Laronda Leia | 151-Assistant Special Education Director | $139,018.80 |
Etheridge, Steven | 101-Assistant/Associate District Superintendent | $133,921.00 |
Thompson, Todd A | 107-General Administrator or General Supervisor | $124,234.61 |
Casey, Stephanie M | 127-Head of Gen Ed (Department chair no admin | $120,725.00 |
| Total | $1,711,038.55 |
One Final Chart
This final chart examines the administration team between 2021 and the end of 2025. Since 2021, budgets have grown and salaries have gone up, so this is not an apples to apples comparison -- but does give a sense of the growth in administration that is reflected in the data on FTE. We see 2 positions winding down/eliminated and the addition of 5 new positions including a Deputy Superintendent, an additional Administrator in Bilingual Education, and more General Administration Roles. The growth in this area reflects $614k in additional spending in administration, however this should be adjusted down to account for natural increases in salary over 4 years - so $500k may be a more reasonable figure for additional spending.
2021 Position | Base Salary | Title | 2025 Position | Base Salary | Additional $ |
LAWRENCE, REGINALD L | $184,800.00 | 100-District Superintendent | WILLIAMS, SHARON DENISE | $220,846.15 | $36,046.15 |
SIERRASANDERS, ALICIA A | $139,184.50 | 152-Special Education Director | SIERRASANDERS, ALICIA A | $167,092.00 | $27,907.50 |
DIXON, RAMONA B | $130,895.30 | 107-General Administrat | DIXON, RAMONA B | $159,947.00 | $29,051.70 |
N/A | $0.00 | 121-Administrator in a Bilingual Education | FRANTZ, DEBRA LYNN | $158,368.00 | $158,368.00 |
RUGGEBERG, MARY KATHRYN | $152,672.85 | 101-Assistant/Associate District Superintendent | VANCE, WILLIAM SCOTT | $156,054.89 | $3,382.04 |
N/A | $0.00 | 101-Assistant/Associate District Superintendent | DASE, JEFFREY | $154,778.00 | $154,778.00 |
WILLIAMS, LASHANTA | $113,549.10 | 121-Administrator in a Bilingual Education | WILLIAMS, LASHANTA | $147,860.00 | $34,310.90 |
LILLIS, MICHELLE LEANNE | $112,574.65 | 107-General Administrator or General Supervisor | ALLEN, KRISTIN A | $147,860.00 | $35,285.35 |
OSWALD, MELODY G | $100,664.08 | 107-General Administrator or General Supervisor | CLARK, LANCE ROBERT | $147,860.00 | $47,195.92 |
N/A | $0 | 107-General Administrator or General Supervisor | MAAG, DORIAN DAWN | $141,475.00 | $141,475.00 |
N/A | $0 | 107-General Administrator or General Supervisor | ANDEDO, LORELEI ROCHELLE | $120,005.00 | $120,005.00 |
N/A | $0.00 | 101-Assistant/Associate District Superintendent | MOORE, DOMINIQUE P | $106,168.65 | $106,168.65 |
COLBRESE, EGAN M | $152,672.85 | 101-Assistant/Associate District Superintendent | COLBRESE, EGAN M | $26,333.38 | $126,339.47 |
BECKWITH, ROBERT D | $152,672.85 | 114-Chief School Business Official | N/A | $0.00 | $152,672.85 |
TOTAL | $614,961.89 |
Conclusion
Looking closely at how school districts allocate resources is important. The way dollars are distributed—between instruction, student services, operations, and administration—can shape the daily experience of students and staff. For that reason, it is reasonable for communities to ask questions about how their schools are staffed and how budgets are structured.
Based on the financial and staffing data reviewed here, however, the narrative that administrative expansion is harming classroom instruction in Rock Island is not supported by the available evidence.
Over the past seven years, the number of administrative positions in the district has increased only slightly—by four full-time equivalent positions. During the same period, instructional staffing declined modestly while student services and support staff positions increased. These changes suggest that staffing growth has occurred primarily in areas connected to student support and school operations rather than central administration.
Compensation patterns also provide context. Administrative salaries in Rock Island are, on average, somewhat higher than those in Moline—by roughly $50,000—though Moline maintains a larger administrative team overall. Teacher salaries in Rock Island average about $2,000 less than in Moline. At the same time, Moline spends more overall on IMRF-covered professional staff, indicating that some differences between the districts may reflect how positions are categorized and coded rather than fundamentally different staffing priorities.
While the data reviewed here does not suggest that administrative growth is diverting significant resources away from students, it remains important to monitor these trends over time. Many communities prefer to see the largest share of educational resources directed toward classroom instruction and direct student support, and maintaining transparency around staffing and compensation helps ensure those priorities remain visible.
My hope is that this analysis can serve as a starting point—a baseline for understanding how Rock Island’s schools are structured today. Moving forward, Rock Island Line will aim to revisit these figures periodically so the community can continue to engage with how school funding decisions may shape the student experience.
In the next article in this series, I will turn to other factors that may influence school climate and student behavior, including student supports, discipline policy, and broader trends affecting schools across the country.
Sources:
Comments