Hamilton County: Buyout could reduce teaching talent, officials worry

Some local officials worry that Hamilton County could face a shortage of teaching talent if many experienced educators take advantage of a proposed buyout plan, they said Wednesday.

The plan, which the school board will discuss today, offers financial incentives to 526 longtime employees to retire at the end of this school year.

“If 600 teachers accepted the buyout, what would you do?” asked County Commissioner Curtis Adams, after a presentation on the school system’s budget at Wednesday’s commission meeting.

“We’d be in deep trouble,” replied Tommy Kranz, the school district’s chief financial officer.

The good news is that the school system would have an opportunity to develop younger teachers, Mr. Kranz said.

“There’s some real talent that’s in that 526 number ... If they take the buyouts, it’s going to create a real vacuum in the school system. That’s the negative,” Mr. Kranz said. “But the positive is, it gives an opportunity to develop some of that younger staff and have it ready for the future.”

He estimated that more than half the employees eligible for the buyouts would take advantage, but admitted there is “no crystal ball.”

Mr. Kranz unveiled the buyout proposal at Tuesday’s Hamilton County Board of Education Finance Committee meeting, saying it was a way to save the school district money. Hamilton County Schools faces a projected budget shortfall of $20.2 million, and if experienced employees retired, the system could save about $3 million a year on their salaries, Mr. Kranz said.

The initial one-time pay-out cost to the district would be about $2.1 million, Mr. Kranz estimated.

If the eligible would-be retirees chose not to take the buyout, it is likely the district would have to cut more inexperienced teachers as a result, because their salaries are lower, school officials said.

“Say three people retire. If you didn’t have those three people retire, you might have to eliminate four positions on the lower end of the chart,” said Nolan Elementary Principal Ken Barker, who has been employed by the school system for 38 years. “You can cut fewer positions of the more experienced teachers because they make more money.”

Very few employees eligible for the buyout would be laid off if they turned down the proposed incentives, Mr. Barker said. Even if their positions were eliminated, their seniority would allow them to be shuffled to other positions in the district, and newer hires would be terminated first.

Mr. Barker said though he is eligible to retire, he would not take the buyout if it were offered.

“I have other economic considerations at this point. I have two daughters in doctoral programs,” he said. “I have a lot of other things to finance.”