Appleton school district has increase in teachers retiring at semester – Post-Crescent

APPLETON – In the past three years, the Appleton Area School District has seen an increase in staff retiring in the middle of the school year and more difficulty filling those positions. 
“The issue is the continuity of student learning and the impact of not having a consistent, highly qualified staff member to provide instruction when a semester retirement occurs,” said Julie King, chief human resources officer for the district. 
At a Jan. 23 school board meeting, district administration asked the school board to amend the employee handbook, beginning with the next school year, to remove post-retirement benefits for those who retire at the end of the first semester. The board decided not to make that change after much discussion over concerns with taking away that option from employees who have already been asked to take on more and more, especially over the past few challenging years.
Board members also felt the timeline to implement the proposed change was too quick and could create planning challenges for employees looking to retire next year.
The board’s entire discussion can be viewed on the district’s YouTube page, which has recordings of regular board meetings. Discussion on semester retirements from the last meeting starts around the 42 minute timestamp.
On average, 40 to 50 teachers retire from the district each year, King told the school board. Over the past eight years, 15 teachers have retired at the end of the first semester. But almost three-quarters of those have come in just the past three years, which administration surmised during the meeting was a result of the pandemic’s effects on education.
This year, five teachers plan to retire at the semester. Last year, it was two; the year before, it was four. Before that, King said, it was only one or two a year.
Filling open positions in school districts statewide has been increasingly difficult, and Appleton has not been immune to that challenge. The middle of the school year can be an even harder time to hire since there are fewer people graduating at that time and looking for employment, King explained. 
For the five retirements this year, the district has only been able to fill one with an outside candidate who is licensed. Another was filled by a candidate with an emergency license and no teaching background. Otherwise, those spots and workloads are being absorbed by current employees.
More:Appleton schools have 100 fewer subs than before the pandemic. Here’s why staffing problems are persisting.
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Reach AnnMarie Hilton at [email protected] or 920-370-8045. Follow her on Twitter at @hilton_annmarie.

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