District tables teacher retirement incentive

Margaret Oliphant
Video Editor

Talks of a retirement incentive occurred at the Jan. 25, board of education meeting due to a drop in attendance of incoming students.

However the talks were tabled due to a law stating that staff must have a 45-day period to decide to take the offer and one week to rescind their decision if they decide to take it. Administration decided to table the incentive for a later date in order to find teachers closer to the beginning of the school year.

The idea of the retirement incentive was in order to free up money used as income for retirement age teachers for other projects, such as parking lot expansions.

The incentive is meant to keep the district more financially sound. This is due to how much more older teachers make to younger teachers whose salary starts at $45,024, typically because of lack of both experience and education such as bachelors and masters degrees. Older teachers with more education such as a PhD or doctorate in education get paid up to $104,099.

Fifty-five teachers were considered eligible across the district. The district had offered a retirement incentive in 2015, and districts such as Kirkwood offer a retirement incentive every year to help keep the district financially sound.

The National Education Association, or NEA, is the largest labor union in the United States, according to NEA.org with three million members across the country. The group represents public school teachers and college students preparing to become teachers; however, the union supports other faculty as well. The WGNEA supports Webster Groves teachers and staff.

“It’s not that Webster hasn’t managed their money well. They’ve managed it very well,” WGNEA building representative Susan Riegel said.

“I don’t think they’re trying to push anyone out to be mean or anything. I think they are just trying to get new teachers to keep us financially sound,” chemistry teacher Kyle Lockos said.

Lockos was unaware of the incentive despite being an NEA member and announcing his retirement in November after 28 years of teaching. Lockos has been taking a step back from the NEA and school activities after his announcement in order to disconnect from the school.

By the time Lockos had heard about it, the offer had been taken off the table; however, news sources such as Fox 2 news and the Saint Louis Post Dispatch had already reported on the story.

“How does it get to the point where the news gets a hold of it before decisions have been made?” Lockos said.

Although news sources have called the incentive a “buyout,” both Riegel and principal Matt Irvin have preferred the term “Retirement Incentive” due to negative connotations that is held by the term “buyout” because incentives are used in companies and other organizations such as police departments frequently.

“The district was very good about calling it a ‘retirement incentive.’ It was the news channels calling it a ‘buyout,’ which has a very negative connotation,” said Riegel.

“Retirement incentives are used more frequently in other districts,” Irvin said.

Saint Louis Post Dispatch learned of the incentive through a board meeting; however, did not speak to members of the school.