Does system let educators retire too young?
Retired educators are not supposed to be able to earn more than $30,000 annually from the public sector and still collect a full pension if they are younger than 65.
Yet Pioneer Superintendent David F. Kurzawa has consistently done that since retiring in 2003 at age 56.
He's worked as interim superintendent in the Silver Creek, Frontier and Southwestern school districts, earning as much as $90,000 a year.
The whole time, he also collected his $87,175 pension.
So have dozens of others in Western New York, and across New York State, who received waivers from the state Department of Education to work and continue collecting their full pensions.
Supporters say interim superintendents are needed to fill a leadership void in our schools.
But critics say the system is being abused, and the double dipping is indicative of a larger problem: Educators are allowed to retire too young.
Most teachers and administrators can retire at a full pension at 55 … creating more vacancies than there are people to fill them, and also creating a cadre of retirees who aren't ready to stop working.
-- Susan Schulman
