Don't cry for teachers who choose early retirement

Chris Rickert:

One indication of how disingenuous the world of public education has become is the sympathy some of us apparently feel for veteran Madison teachers who feel compelled to retire early.

As this newspaper detailed Sunday, early retirements have spiked over concerns about what Gov. Scott Walker's bid to curtail public sector collective bargaining rights will mean for teachers' retirements.

It's clear teachers beginning their careers today could be subjected to lots of things the private sector has had to endure for a long time (e.g., merit evaluations, higher health care costs). What puzzles me is what veteran teachers risk by working a few more years -- especially given the love they express for the job.

Take, for example, teachers' ability to parlay unused sick days into health insurance coverage or other benefits after they retire.

District spokesman Ken Syke said the district's legal team has not produced an opinion on this. But teachers union president John Matthews was certain it was a benefit long-time teachers would retain.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at April 28, 2011 7:28 PM
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