Students may lose experienced teachers if state cuts incentive

e-mail this story Related Online extra • Frequently Asked Questions about TERI Previous coverage • Opinion: State's retiree retention program must be abolished

Five years before, he would have had 20 applicants for the position.

Greenville County school officials fear that if an attempt to end a three-year-old state incentive program that keeps retirement-eligible teachers in the classroom is successful, there could be a rash of experienced educators leaving the classroom and a shortage of qualified new teachers to replace them.

That's one reason the district will be offering employment contracts to some prospective teachers as early as the end of this week, said Pat Mitchell, executive director for human resources for the district.

Recruiting early could help the district find teachers in hard-to-fill subjects for the short-term, said Mildred Hudson, chief operating officer for the nonprofit organization Recruiting New Teachers.

But a multifaceted approach will be necessary to solve the shortage of highly qualified teachers in the long-term, given the fact that two-thirds of the nation's teachers will be retiring over the next decade, she said.

The Teacher and Employee Retention Incentive program started as a way to keep teachers in the classroom at a time when the state had a problem of finding and retaining qualified instructors in some specialized areas. The program was expanded to include employees from all state agencies, universities and colleges, and local governments.

There were 11,194 state employees in the TERI program on Nov. 30, said Mike Sponhour, spokesman for the state Budget and Control Board.

About 48 percent of them are public school employees, he said.

Employees continue to receive their annual pay under the TERI program. The monthly retirement checks they would have received are put into escrow, payable at the end of their TERI service, Sponhour said.

Too costly?

State Sen. Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, says the state can't afford the program that he says is pushing its retirement system close to danger.

He has introduced a bill that would prohibit any new participants from joining as of July 1. The program would end five years later.

Ryberg said the TERI program and lowering the years of service to be eligible for full retirement benefits to 28 has contributed to the state retirement system having a shortfall of $2.6 billion with an amortization period of 26 years. The federal government considers any retirement system with a 30-year amortization period insolvent, Ryberg said.

"My goal is to protect the fiscal integrity of the state retirement system," he said.

He said the program also "parks people in positions for five years," preventing other people from getting promotions and young workers from getting entry-level jobs.

But in certain areas of education — like math, science, business, computer technology and special education — there's a shortage of prospective candidates, said Chamness and Hudson.

In Greenville County, 619 of the district's 4,315 employees will be eligible to retire at the end of the year, Mitchell said. Two hundred eighty-seven are already on the TERI plan.

More than half of the district's principals could retire at the end of the year, he said. Those already on the TERI plan number 34.

Without TERI, in some areas "an already tight situation could become unbelievably difficult," said Chamness, who called his decision to participate in the TERI program a "financial no-brainer."

"We're asking teachers to work harder and longer. We're asking them to do more with the kids and, in some cases, with less time," said Chamness, whose teachers protested budget cuts with signs outside the school one morning. "If you take away incentives, some who are on the fence about whether they should work another year or two may not think it's worth it."

Ann Brown, a guidance counselor at Woodmont Middle who is in her first year as a TERI participant, said the incentive program is working.

"It's keeping experienced educators in the profession," she said. "A more experienced educator brings a lot to the classroom."

Having prospective retirees stay in the classroom longer or return to the profession is one way to deal with the shortage, Hudson said. Those teachers can serve as mentors to younger teachers, help that could keep them in a profession that sees half leave in the first three years.

"Programs like these shouldn't be cut just because of problems with the budget," she said. "You're not talking about teachers who will become millionaires by teaching a little longer."

Mitchell said the district expects to have to hire around 450 teachers this year to replace those who retire, move and leave the field.

The hiring could start as early as the end of this week, when the district makes employment offers to prospective teachers in shortage areas, he said.

"We can't afford to wait, especially at the secondary level," he said. "We have no choice but to start now."

Last year, the district stopped recruiting on college campuses because of budget cuts that eventually led to the elimination of 230 teaching positions, he said.

Even with the cuts, the district still hired 294 teachers to fill vacancies, he said. Balancing this year's budget with additional teacher cuts is not an option if the district is to meet state mandated class size limits, he said.

"This year, there's no reason to hold back," he said.

Principals will be asked to anticipate vacancies and recruit and hire for them early, he said. The district office will also be hiring teachers in critical needs areas and assigning them to schools later, he said.