GRANITE CITY, Ill. (AP) – Two assistant high school principals in southwestern Illinois will receive $600,000 in back pay to settle a federal lawsuit over sex-based pay discrimination.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports that Granite City School District 9 denies the discrimination charge but agreed to the payout to Nikki Petrillo and Stacie Miller.
Both alleged that for nine years they saw male colleagues start at higher salaries in comparable positions and receive higher pay raises when they got promoted.
Miller says she and a man were both named assistant principals in 2011. But the man had a higher salary despite Miller having five more years’ experience and one more master’s degree than her colleague.
Petrillo claimed she complained about the pay disparities in 2012 and was forced back to teaching with a pay cut.
