EDUCATION More teachers retiring, returning to work

Some don't like the idea of teachers receiving two checks.
TOLEDO (AP) -- About 11,000 retired teachers in the state were back in classrooms last year, a number that has risen nearly 40 percent since 2000.
While the majority work only part time as substitutes, 11.6 percent of them take home salaries in excess of $50,000 while also drawing their pensions, an analysis by The Blade of Toledo shows.
The numbers have increased since Ohio lawmakers changed retirement rules in 2000, allowing public employees to return to jobs within two months of retiring. Previously some had to wait a year and a half.
Proponents of hiring retired educators say it lets the state keep talented, experienced people who otherwise might have taken jobs in other states. Others worry that bringing employees back to the same jobs they were doing makes it harder for younger workers to advance and reduces the number of openings for new graduates.
Percentage working
Of the 89,257 retirees in the State Teachers Retirement System in fiscal year 2003, 11,323 worked, state figures show. That's up from 8,252 out of 81,111 retirees in 2000.
About 70 percent of those working last year earned less than $20,000.
"The biggest thing we see from our members or what people ask about is the assumption that they're out there working full time," Gary Russell, director of member services for the retirement system, told The Blade. "It definitely seems to be [more of] a part-time thing."
Increasing the pool of substitute teachers was one reason lawmakers made it easier for retirees to return to work. But school systems also are finding they can rehire administrators at lower salaries while saving on health care at the same time.
Medical benefits are available through the retirement system.
A principal in Perrysburg, for example, plans to retire at the end of this school year. He makes $82,000 now but will be rehired at a salary of $73,800.
"We are getting a seasoned employee at a much lower cost," said Aura Norris, personnel director at Perrysburg schools.
Against the concept
Not everyone supports the concept, though.
"It comes up in discussion whether or not we should encourage it, whether or not it impacts the district's ability to change direction," said Dave McClellan, president of the Toledo Association of Administrative Personnel. "If you're trying to infuse the district with fresh thinking, how do you do that by rehiring people who have been in the system for 30-some years?"
The idea of people receiving two checks doesn't sit well with some, either. It's not clear how much individual pensions are because the state doesn't provide that information to the public.
Pat Schmitz, deputy director of legal services for the Ohio School Boards Association, represented the sentiments of many of the workers.
"The buzz word you hear sometimes is 'double dipping.' It's a bit of a misnomer," he said. "These folks could certainly retire and get their benefits. They've vested and they're entitled to receive them. They're earning their pay when they're re-employed. They're not getting anything they have not already earned."