Schools lure 'best'

Retire from one classroom, teach in another, get an extra 30 grand.

That's what's happening as Utah's teaching force starts to age and a teaching shortage starts to rage in some school districts.

Jordan District last week drafted courtship letters and paid the state retirement office to address them to about 480 teachers who retired in the past few years, said Bevan Wasden, West Jordan area executive director, who has recruited for the district.

That's the same professional demographic the district just lost, when 260 teachers — three times last year's number — took retirement as of July 3 following the district's move to reduce retirement benefits due to changes in federal and state accounting rules.

"Our human resources department has worked very hard to get the best possible people in our classrooms, so what better source to try to tap into?" Wasden said.

The nation's schools for years have struggled with a teacher shortage, largely spurred by retirements. Utah schools have felt the effects here and there, and a study says things will get worse.

Utah schools will need more than 44,000 new teachers — a 23 percent increase — by 2014, according to the Utah Education Supply and Demand Study 2004-05 issued last winter. Fast-growing districts could need to grow their teaching force by 60 percent.

Several factors are at play here. Utah's enrollments are expected to grow by 28 percent; more than 46 percent of today's teachers will become eligible for retirement in the next decade; and college graduates are taking jobs elsewhere, or not working in the field. Colleges also aren't keeping up with demand.

"We don't know the reason for (Granite District's) shortage, but we do know through the universities, there are less students graduating in education," said Donnette McNeill-Waters, Granite associate director of human resources.

Tapping retirees to fill openings has some economic benefits.

In Jordan, newly hired retirees are paid as if they have 11 years experience. Using FY05's salary schedule, that's a little over $40,000 a year for a teacher with a master's degree — about $8,000 less than what a 25-year veteran would make.

So, districts get to pay less for more experience.

And retirees get to fatten their bank accounts. With their new salary, plus state retirement, and benefits money going to a 401K, returning retirees can rake in $70,000 to $80,000 a year — $20,000 to $30,000 more than they made before retirement, Wasden said.