Our Educational Budget Deficit

Recently our state gave a rebate to people who have homestead exemptions. This has placed our education here in dire financial circumstances. We have stretched our resources in opening new schools this year. Now we have a projected $5,000,000+ shortfall for the coming year.

Superintendent Joyner sent out an email asking all educators for suggestions to reduce the shortfall. I sent Dr. Joyner an email with my suggestion. Since most of the education monies go towards building upkeep, supplies, and salaries, there simply isn't much 'wiggle room' to help. I would like to stress that my suggestion does not address the effect it would have upon education. I stuck to the question Dr. Joyner asked and looked at any way in which to legally reduce the deficit. Our contract locks in the rather low salary structure. I did not go for the obvious and recommend that 25% of the district office staff be cut. So.... here is my emailed suggestion.

The top salaried teachers are very expensive to maintain. If the district would offer a full voluntary retirement of 30 years for any teacher who has 26 or more years of experience, hiring replacement teachers who have less than 5 years of experience, this could result in huge savings. In addition to the full retirement incentive, an added inducement could be supplemental health care throughout retirement. Even with this, the savings would be substantial during the next few years. Hopefully by that time we will be on a more substantial funding foundation and can deal with the extended health costs of our retirees. My feeling is that with the meager 60% retirement we have, retirees should be receiving health benefits anyway. It is the decent thing to do for people who have given their lives to educate our youth.

If they implemented this plan, I would have to carefully consider my options. I love teaching. Still, health benefits as I get older would not be a small consideration. I imagine that several hundred teachers would feel similarly. That type of retirement plan would be hard to reject.