St. Paul Public Schools has canceled a planned early retirement incentive that was expected to save $2.5 million next year.
Superintendent Valeria Silva said in a letter to staff Monday that “the anticipated short-term savings would not benefit the district in future years.”
Silva and her staff first discussed the offer publicly April 12 during a budget presentation to the school board.
Available to teachers and most other staffers 55 and older and with at least 15 years of service, the offer was to be worth 75 percent of one year’s pay for most employees and 50 percent for highly paid employees.
“I sincerely apologize as I know this is disappointing and upsetting news to those of you who were planning on pursuing the ERI,” Silva wrote.
Judith Julig, a positive behavior support specialist, told the district she was retiring before the incentive was announced. She said she and others were frustrated that they stood to gain nothing from the incentive.
The district wasn’t going to start accepting applications until April 29, so it’s unclear how much interest there would have been. But the district expected well over 100 teachers to take the offer.
According to Department of Education records, St. Paul has 1,322 licensed staffers with at least 15 years’ experience, but that data includes work outside the district as well.
The cancellation followed consultation with employees, lawmakers and the Saint Paul Teachers’ Retirement Fund Association, which revealed that added long-term pension costs would not have made the short-term savings worthwhile.
The incentive was supposed to create a $2.5 million savings next year as the district sought to close a $15.3 million gap between revenues and expenses.
The budget package Silva laid out earlier this month identified exactly $15.3 million even without the incentive, so administrators won’t have to search anew for additional cuts.
The school board will hear another budget presentation Tuesday.