Metro-East News

Salaries and wages of Alton School District employees added to Public Pay Database

The salaries and wages of Alton School District employees for 2019 have been added to the Belleville News-Democrat’s Public Pay Database.

To view the BND’s Public Pay Database, go to https://www.bnd.com/publicpay

The highest earner in the district in 2019, the latest figures available, was former Superintendent Mark Cappel, who was paid $193,098, according to records provided to the BND from the school district through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Cappel retired in June 2019 after working in the Alton School District for 29 years. He was named superintendent in 2016.

Cappel’s replacement, Kristie Baumgartner, was the second-highest earner employed by the district, bringing in $163,129, the records show. Baumgartner worked as the district’s assistant superintendent before filling Cappel’s role when he retired over the summer.

She has worked in the district for a total of 19 years.

Alton High School Principal Mike Bellm was third on the list with a salary of $136,336.

The district’s fourth-highest paid staffer was Director of Financial Services Mary Schell, who earned $132,031. The district’s fifth-highest earner was Alton Middle School Principal Cindy Inman, who was paid $129,205.

The BND’s Public Pay Database goes back to 2011 with information obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests. The salary information does not always include insurance or benefits. Some records include detailed information on overtime and other pay, while for some districts that information was not readily available.

The database includes worker compensation in most local governments, including cities, counties, townships, school districts and local colleges and universities. More pay records will be added as the BND receives salary data through open records requests.

This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 7:00 AM.

Kavahn Mansouri
Belleville News-Democrat
Kavahn Mansouri is an Investigate Reporter for the NPR Midwest Newsroom based in St. Louis, Missouri, a journalism partner with the Belleville News-Democrat. Support my work with a digital subscription
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