Retired teachers return to classroom - JSOnline
Teacher retirements may have doubled statewide in this year of Wisconsin budget wars, but some school districts are lessening the drain on classroom experience by bringing back teachers who left the classroom at the beginning of the summer. Peter Hirt, superintendent of the North Lake School District, said his district has hired two teachers who announced their retirement in March.
Though the two are being paid at about the rate they would have been paid had they stayed on, Hirt said, the district is still saving money on their compensation - and would be even if the alternative was to hire replacements right out of college - because the district doesn't have to pay for their health insurance or contribute any more to their retirement fund.
At least three other Milwaukee-area districts - New Berlin, Wauwatosa and Greenfield - hired back retired staff this year at even greater saving, because the teachers are now being paid at lower rates than they were before.
The hired-back teachers in North Lake are second-grade teacher Karen Niehausen and Spanish teacher Camille Faherty. Hirt said
the two came to him in March and volunteered to retire to protect younger teachers from being laid off.
But after school officials crunched the budget numbers this summer and saw how much they'd save from the provisions in the Walker legislation, they realized they could afford to again fill the four positions that had been trimmed. They called back the two laid-off teachers and then chose the two retired teachers from lists of multiple applicants for the other two jobs.
"It's good for students when you can keep an effective, veteran teacher in the classroom,
and it is good for the district when that teacher is doing the same job for a lower salary," he said. "I don't see how anyone loses."
======================================
Wow, he doesn't see how anyone loses! how about the Wisconsin education major that just spent $64,000 on a degree and can't find a job? why don't they just pay these retired teachers in a bag of peanuts at the end of each day and save the district even more money?
and are these teachers not "double dipping", getting retirement pay and getting paid to continue working?
are these teachers essentially scabs, the irony of volunteering to retire so that younger teachers wouldn't be laid off and then going back to teach and taking jobs away from others is terrible.
of course, precisely because teachers in Wisconsin often retire in their mid to late 50's b/c of the generous retirement package afforded them is a direct reason why they probably feel o.k. about coming back and teaching, in some cases for less money, if they had to work till 65 like most people they most likely wouldn't be so keen to keep working. But when you're 57? easier decision.
(and please don't tell me they don't retire this early or it's the exception b/c I personally know 6 teachers that have done this)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
