Meanwhile, Jordan's most recent retirees helped fill Granite District's openings, essentially saving its skin this school year, Bates said. Murray School District also hired a handful of Jordan's retirees for high-demand jobs, including those in special education. Davis District reported hiring retirees from both Jordan and Granite.

"If there wasn't a teacher shortage in the state, there wouldn't be that big of a market," Tim Leffel, vice president of the Utah Association of School Business Officials and Murray District business administrator. "But if you have 30 years in a district and you're a (high-demand) special ed teacher, you could retire and go work for another district, easy."

In the Provo School District, 50 percent to 60 percent of retired teachers get rehired — usually by other school districts, said Bob Gentry, Provo's personnel director.

"If the person started when they were 25, they were 55-58 years old (when they retired)," Gentry said. "They're pretty young; they still have an opportunity to work beyond (retirement). It's a good advantage for them."

Enrollment in the Provo School District is not increasing, but the district will still be impacted by the statewide teacher shortage as other school districts become more aggressive in recruiting the best teachers, Gentry said.

Often, retirees switching districts are hired and paid less than they're worth — on the 11th year of the pay scale in Jordan and the eighth year in Granite. But with a retirement benefit that could give them up to 60 percent of their old salary, that likely makes up the difference.

Granite, Jordan and Murray officials say retirees have worked 30 years and have earned the benefit under state law. And working again is perfectly legal. But Leffel acknowledges "a lot of people disagree" and view it as double-dipping.

A legislative audit last month regarding state retirees returning to state employment said Utah's lax restrictions on the practice, along with some agencies manipulating the intent of the law, have led to a few cases of abuse in the departments of Corrections, Public Safety and Alcoholic Beverage Control. Responding state officials said they didn't knowingly or intentionally violate state law and that the practice is a legal way to retain valued employees.

"The concern in the audit was the very, very loose interpretation (of law) — 'OK, I'm going to retire from one position and move down a floor or move down a hall,"' Curtis said. "It's OK if there's an actual, true separation from your employment ... but you can't create a fictitious retirement."

He believes schools are doing fine.

The audit did not look at public education's practices, legislative audit manager Tim Osterstock said. "But probably more disconcerting ... there is some thought that school districts themselves are rehiring their own retirees on a contract basis. We have been told that is (going on) but not gotten any information on that because we have not audited that."

State law does not address contract work, Osterstock said.

Districts say they're very careful about hiring retirees and closely follow the law.

But their retirees pool could become stretched. Utah's Electronic High School, the largest such education program in the country, also will be recruiting the retired as it expands its reach, principal Richard Siddoway says.

Hiring Jordan retirees this year is "why we don't have empty classrooms today," Bates said.

"Unfortunately, that was a one-time thing. We're very worried about next year."

---

Contributing: Laura Hancock, Tiffany Erickson

E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com