Instead, board members decided March 7 not to reconsider because "people are planning their lives and moving ahead. Any wavering by the board would send a message that we don't know what we're doing," board member Sherril Taylor said.

While Jordan is one of the first in the state to cut benefits, Newbold said all the other state districts will soon follow suit. Acting now, he said, at least allows teachers a chance to make decisions.

Although Berryessa pushed for the board to reconsider its choice of benefit plans, he added that he understands the district had few options. Acting now may have saved teachers from more drastic decisions such as cutting jobs, salaries or even insurance for spouses and families.

Skyrocketing insurance costs had put the district in a financial bind, with the cost of post-retirement benefits growing from $2.2 million in 1996 to $8 million last year.

"In time, all the districts will be grappling with the same thing within the next year or two. Teachers don't realize it," Berryessa said. "When it's all said and done, people will look back and say Jordan was able to do much more than my district."

Officials at the Utah Education Association, however, say school boards should slow down and not overhaul retirement systems long relied on by teachers. The GASB rules give districts 30 years to fully fund benefits.

"It's not something where they need to come up with the money immediately," said Courtney White, director of research and negotiations for UEA. "Let's take this one step at a time, let's not overreact and make an immediate quick fix."

That's the philosophy leaders in Davis School District are taking, sending a letter last month to employees saying the district "intends to move slowly" before making changes.

With the abrupt change in benefits in Jordan, Berryessa said district leaders are going to be facing an exodus of teachers who can maintain their post-retirement benefits if they retire this year. Roughly 750 employees in the district are eligible to retire this year.

Many of those teachers are feeling forced to retire before they planned, Berryessa added, afraid that the cash in lieu of coverage won't cover their future insurance premiums. The cash payments are made without consideration of inflation or rising medical costs, which could leave teachers unable to afford insurance until Medicare kicks in, he said.

"I know many teachers are bitter; many teachers want to leave and many will leave. We'll feel the ramifications of this for a long time, and that's really unfortunate," he said. "They're feeling like it was a bad career choice — a terrible career choice — because they don't have any security. It's a sad day."

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E-mail: estewart@desnews.com