Teachers already looking to retire
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on September 7, 2014 1:50 AM
In the first 10 days of school, it's not unusual to have issues with bus routes and enough drivers.
What Dr. Marvin McCoy wasn't prepared for this year, though, was a run of educators seeking to leave the profession.
"I have had more inquiries about leaving teaching positions, even the veterans," the assistant superintendent for human resource services said Wednesday. "The inquiries -- 'When am I eligible to retire? This is how much time I have, I've got this much sick leave.'
"Normally, I don't have them coming in after the change of the year. But through the latter part of the summer and mostly in the month of August, I had quite a few who have come in and inquired."
Most, he said, have an eye toward departing at the end of this school year or possibly by the end of the current semester.
"At the end of this school year, there could be an exodus that could be out of the norm," he said.
Traditionally, there are the usual reasons for leaving a job, he said -- military transfers and regular retirements among them.
The latest trend does not fall into that category. Nor have teachers waited until the school doors open to be vocal.
"Most of the disgruntled folks I meet out at the store. It happens all the time," he said.
He attributes the dissension to the state's recent budgetary woes and decisions to entice new teachers to the profession.
There is resentment among the long-time educators, he said, while younger teachers are getting a pay bump.
"'What about the veteran teachers?'" is a common question, he said.
"I pray that it doesn't happen but if a veteran teacher has 20 years, anywhere between 20 and 25 years and they're at least 50, they still have another 10 years. They could conceivably retire. And especially if they have an empty nest. They could go to these border states and get a job."
It's not something he wants to dwell on, but is nevertheless a real possibility, he said.
The K-6 arena is not as problematic as some of the "critical areas" in teaching, McCoy said -- specifically math, science and EC, or exceptional children -- because those are particularly challenging positions to fill.
He said he has already received some requests for retirements in October or November and others investigating the prospect.
"Most of my elementary mid-year (retirements) would end up being Jan. 1," he said.
Replenishing the bus driver pool also remains a challenge, and McCoy said the transportation department was forced to use some substitute drivers when the school year began. Some of the department's area coordinators filled in on the routes, he said.
"One day we had to have one of the teacher assistants who has a (CDL, or commercial driver's license) to fill in," he said. "We're going with what we had, those who had the credentials."
Fortunately, the district has personnel at every school with the CDL credentials to draw from when there is a need, McCoy said. But the effort to have sufficient drivers is an ongoing one.
"We're constantly recruiting as we're doing with teachers," he said. "We're doing the same thing. There's another training class scheduled real soon."