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

Comments

[W]

Administrators are not educators. I think thats a big problem with this series of articles, Susan. Teachers who retire early are likely burnt out. Would you want your child being taught by a burnt out teacher whose only thought each day is when they can get out on the golf course next? Teaching takes energy, and many older teachers lose the energy to be effective, especially in the day and age of "easy and entertaining" that we are in now. Students want everything made easy for them, and they want it flashy and exciting. The fact that nearly every home has a game console (or two) and at least one TV that is on all the time makes teaching very challenging. Who can compete with Halo III? It takes a lot of energy to even get their attention right now.

Should teachers be allowed to retire at 55? Yes. Some should be asked to. Its not all about money. Your kids are part of the equation, and they should certainly come before your wallet. If they don't you are part of the problem.

[Barton Keyes]

Nearly everyone who does a job thinks that job is more demanding that those looking in from the outside. Hence the posting by "W" who suggests that teachers work a lot harder than administrators. I've no doubt that administrators think otherwise.
In no small part that difference of opinion comes from knowing what the job entails versus only knowing a little about the job. To outsiders teachers get paid a years worth of salary for ten months work and 7 hours a day with plenty of holidays. To teachers it is hours of non-class room work and increased demand to produce better grades with inadequate resources or intermittant administrative back up.
Choose you cliche. The grass is always greener or you have to walk a mile in his shoes, etc., etc.

[Mary Ellen McGowan]

As a retired Buffalo Public School teacher I was saddened but not surprised at the slanted article by the News which conveniently left out some important information concerning the New York State Teachers Retirement System, which is where all NYS pensions for retired educators come from. Because first, the people getting the pensions of $100,000 or more that were reported by your article were mostly school ADMINISTRATORS not teachers, and second, your reporter rather conveniently left out the small fact that from 1966, when I started teaching, until 1999 when I retired, APPROXIMATELY 10-TO-12% OF MY YEARLY SALARY WENT DIRECTLY INTO THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM INSTEAD OF INTO MY POCKET. Which means the money I'm getting in my monthly pension is primarily money I put into the system for 32 years! And yet once again the Buffalo News with its total anti-union bias has "conveniently" glossed over that fact. Oh, and another thing? When your article stated that I don't have to pay NYS income tax you were absolutely correct. However, I don't know where you got the fact that I don't pay Social Security tax from, because whenever I go into a school to substitute teach (which I still do occasionally) I get a paycheck and all the FICA and SS taxes are automatically taken out before I even see a penny. Plus, if I earn over a certain yearly amount in extra income (over and above my pension and Social Security income) I not only have to pay the SSA back any monies I earned over that cap bbut I must pay back pension monies too. And just so we can keep the record clear here, as a resident of Erie County I'm as responsible as everyone else is for the 8 3/4% sales tax on everything I buy in county plus I also have to pay federal income tax to the tune of 16 1/2% of my yearly gross income. So please....when your reporter is trying to make out like I'm getting this total free ride on the backs of the poor NYS taxpayer? Like everything else in life, the truth is a bit more nuanced.

[Tom]

The school system and board of education are always fearful of budget cuts but BS like this is allowed to run rampant throughout the state. Just another example of how our leaders in Albany are useless.

[Nora]

What's the definition of "primarily," Ms. McGowan?

[Lydia Bezou-Hojnacki]

People who retire at 55 and then return to work on a waiver, at full salary, are welfare cheats, pure and simple. The state is giving away our money to those who find a way to extract it from us bleeding turnips.

There should be a clause in retirement law that prohibits collection of a pension until age 62 or later. Let the burned-out teachers find other careers in the private sector.

This whole welfare system sounds worse than "injured" public sector workers working private jobs while collecting disability. And these are EDUCATED people milking the system for all they can get. We, the public, are letting them; however, I mostly put the blame on various negotiators, legislators, and appointees who just don't seem to understand, "Represent the taxpayer and legislate/decide what is the most judicious use of the revenue they provide for public use."

Disgusting is the word that comes to mind--the decision makers have no clue about the consequences of their actions, or else they're setting up for their own benefit, not for the public good. It's a matter of ETHICS. The world has gone to he(( on that matter.

[Ralph]

NO...the welfare cheats are just that...The able Bodied citizens who steals money from the taxpayer via WELFARE-COMPENSATION, or any other means, but actually crawling out of a cozy bed , 5 time a week, and earning their way thru life. THAT IS A CHEAT.
When the Governor of this State claims we are going broke, and all State and Public employees need to give up some compensation, I say "SCREW THEM"...Get some of these scumbags, off the welfare rolls first, then talk to us.
We may have Health Insurance for maybe 30 years, but these Cheats have from Cradle to Grave.

[R]

The retirement system is good. Were it not for the retirement system, many teachers would have entered different professions and moved to another state.

Tier I no longer exists. Those excessive salaries for teachers are a thing of the past.

Teachers take a lower salary in return for the retirement. The retirement is good, but it does not rise with the cost of living. Rather than say the retirement of Tier IV teacher be taken away, having them pay into it for the duration of their employment would be a fair change.

Administrators are making the high pensions, but there is a shortage. Becoming a teacher or administrator is not that difficult, but there are numerous requirements to obtain a teaching/administrator license. All these hoops diminish the number of candidates.

Rather than taking away pensions, every profession should be fighting for one rather than buying into the corporate propaganda that they are wrong. As of January 1, 2008, workers in China have greater employee rights than the United States.

[Bella]

Unions suck the taxpayers dry. Unions are killing NYS. End of story.

[Bella]

Oh yeah, and another thing..I say "Go Patterson!!! Cap the teacher's salaries!" But of course the unions are going to fight that...Can't have teachers and administrators retiring at the ripe old age of 65 and making less than $206K a year in pension now can we?!!!

[jim]

Um, you don't get to reitire on time when there is a pay freeze for 5+ years. This argument is moot. Do you think the military lets people retire too young? How about the police? This argument is the biggest joke just to incite anger from the uneducated. Please Bufalo News get a life. What about doing real stories about violence, poiticians who are lying and the accountability that is non existent in the schools?

[Scott]

The Union will never allow the following.

Merit Pay. Can't actually expect teachers to be accountable for what they teach. That would simply be too much.

The removal of tenure. Can't have teachers removed from the job because they are incompetent. That would be unfair to a good chunk of teachers who are.

Longer school year. Can't impede on teachers precious time off, they wouldn't know what to do for the two extra months.

Longer day. God knows there 6 hour work day coupled with 3 off periods is strenuous enough to ask them to work an average work schedule.

[R in Buffalo]

Merit pay is based on standardized tests. You will see testing scandals and teachers teaching to the test the way they do in Southeast Asia. The result will be simple rote memorization.

Taking away tenure will allow for districts to wipe out teachers on the verge of retirement as is done in the private sector taking away one of the biggest draws to the profession. Quality employees and potential employees will go into other fields just like they do in most other states.

People complain but fail to realize they cannot name one other product they received that lasts them their entire lives.

Let's face,we do not value education in this country.

[Not a dummy]

And what is the overall test score rating for the children in Buffalo public schools? I believe not every teacher is doing their job.

[Lydia Bezou-Hojnacki]

"Rather than say the retirement of Tier IV teacher be taken away, having them pay into it for the duration of their employment would be a fair change."

That is already in place, and it is a big chunk of the paycheck.

"Were it not for the retirement system, many teachers would have entered different professions and moved to another state."

How insulting that you think people choose professions for their retirement benefits. People who are smart about their successes and their well being choose professions that suit their talents and personalities. Those who retire from their professions are rewarded for having chosen careers for which they anticipated being well suited.

Why would anyone "hang in there" if ill-fitted for a job? If only people could get their priorities right--peace of mind and the feeling of accomplishment come to mind when working through the years of a career.

[Martin]

The next story The News should focus on is how impossible it is for a teacher to lose their job.

It was recently in the local media that a teacher from Lockport registered 4 DWI arrests in 13 months. She was put on paid leave the last the last few months of the school year in 2007 and again from Novemeber 2007 to the end of this school year, not just for the arrests but she reportedly showed up to school intoxicated. It wasn't until her final 4th and final DWI arrest that she was officially removed from her job.

[Blaise O'Connor]

Between welfare fraud and the folks in Albany, that can't control unnecessary spending like this, and now you know why New York State is in ruins financially. The system in NY is horrible. There should be a limit on pensions. Most of these overpaid Superintendents have no business making the money that they do. It isn't their fault, however. It's Albany's!

[lanres]

Funny how people cry when they most likely helped elect those who enacted all these "Loop wholes and perks" - Guess what , those guys and gals you elected from the Village Town Boards all the way to Washington helped create this mess - keep voting party lines. You deserve what you get - pay your taxes - sign your Party petitions and shut up !

[tom]

The cost to pay for these retirements is obviously more than a virtually bankrupt community can afford. The insult is as bad as the monetary cost. Our children in Buffalo get one of the worst educations available set amidst the soap opera of Williams,Rumore, McKinley High, and a union perfectly content to continue to stick it to the rest of us.
What has been done to Buffalo and to New York State is way past saving. Upstate New York now has an economy that ranks worse than Mississippi. To think that New York has gone from the empire state to the mess it is today is both maddening and sad.

It was done primarily by elected officials caving into union demands after union demands.

If you have lived in New York for any period of time and were to move away it really hits home.

I live in Florida now and I can tell you that the savings hits you between the eyes. No state income taxes, union members who are paid a living wage but within the affordability of the residents, a sales tax one third less than Erie County, and property taxes shockingly lower. A home worth $300,000 in Tampa pays about $4500 in real estate taxes. In New York our residence was worth about half and yet our taxes on it were twice what we pay in Florida.

All in I figure our annual savings just by moving out of New York amounts to well over $12,000 in after tax dollars.

[Ralph]

As soon as there is a system in place to get the ABLE- BODIED scumbags off Welfare and Compensation, then talk to the Unions on what needs to be done...in the meantime, dont bother me when I'm sipping some wine in the Gulf of Mexico

[R.Mick]

Is anyone at The News aware of the retreat Buffalo's administrators recently shared with the Miami Super who is so unpopular he was nearly ousted by his own board the week of the retreat ? This stuff is all good to stir up people who hate teachers all ready but what about some current stuff ?

[OP Mike]

By manipulating the system to his own piggish advantage, North Tonawanda Superintendent John George ended up with a big, fat $205,809 pension. His replacement will cost the taxpayers at least $150,000 in salary and benefits, bringing the annual cost to over $355,000 for the superintendent's job. Furthermore, it is possible that George's replacement will also retire in a few years at more than $200,000 plus, bringing the total taxpayer cost to well over $600,000 annually - for just one administrator position!

GETALIFE recommends that some of us should stop complaining and volunteer at an animal or homeless shelter. Maybe that's not such a bad idea. I'm sure the stench from cat urine, dog feces and the unwashed homeless is far less repugnant than the stench emanating from the cesspool known as the New York State public employee retirement system.

[pgr88]

Did anyone see THIS in the News today (8/13)???

Today the NY State Teachers Unions blackmailed any NY State Senators to withhold support if they should seek to cap property taxes. Isn't that amazing? Even with the poor state of NY State in general and Upstate in particular, the teachers union telling the elected officials of NY "raise taxes, or we will campaign against you!"

[Wayne]

pgr88: I was shocked at that same article. The educators through the unions are trying perpetuate these scams so they can continue to rip off the tax payers in the private sector endlessly.

[Not a dummy]

OK, Tell me again. What is the high school drop out rate? And how much money does it take to teach that percentage? Ok. Some don't learn. Some don't get it. Some don't stay. Some don't graduate. Some can only do Math at what was the level again? And, what is the level for Reading and English? Hmmm. Let us give more money to help those in charge of teaching and make sure they can leave early too and we can also give them money to live on comfortably as well as get another job for the rest of their lives. Oh I guess I am a dummy!
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