Early Retirement window is closing on December 3

For those PdC Public School Employees who are in the eligible age range for a possible early retirement stipend, the deadline for the preliminary notice is coming up on December 3, with the final decision to be made later. The Board has voted to give this potential one time package to those people who desire to retire at the end of this school year. There are packages available to eligible employees in both the teacher and support staff categories. Even if you are qualified for this retirement package that does not mean that you have to retire; that is a personal decision. By far, most of the qualified people will just throw the papers away.

Questions that I have heard:

1. Will this package be offered next year?
The short answer is that I do not know. This is a School Board decision.

2. Does this paperwork mean that I should retire?
No, that is a personal decision. This is a stipend plan offered by the School Board to those who are retiring.

3. Why now, why not in April?
We need to plan staffing for next year. If positions are to be replaced, postings/hiring needs to be done. 

4. Why such a short window to decide?

The window length is determined from time-frames under various laws. The paperwork outlines those rules. There are two dates, a preliminary and a final date.

5. Why did I get a letter when I do not want to retire?
Per laws, we need to give everyone in the same class (qualifying age etc.) the same letter. In addition, we have no idea as to who may want to retire without paperwork.