CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The Cedar Rapids Community School District’s school board unanimously approved an early, voluntary retirement incentive for building administrators Monday, and are looking ahead to approving one for teachers next.
The incentive, $20,000, is on a first come, first serve basis for administrators who are 55-years-old and have worked in the district for 20 years. Karla Hogan, CRCSD’s deputy CFO, said a total of seven administrators qualify for the full benefit, and an eighth for a pro-rated benefit.
The vote comes nearly two months after the board approved a consolidation plan that closed five schools.
We do have administrators that might not want to go into the new model, might not want to change buildings and this gives them the opportunity to do that,” Hogan told Iowa’s News Now.
The district says only five administrators will be able to get the benefit, and they have until July 31 to accept.
One of the board members, Scott Drzycimski, is looking ahead to how this could held the district amid these changes.
“Hopefully this works both well for our administrators and ultimately when we get to the teachers, for the teachers as well, but also allows the district to place people and have maximum flexibility for those being impacted by the changes in our re-configuration,” Drzycimski said.
The retirements would happen at the end of this upcoming school year. The plan for teachers is capped at 40, with a November 1 deadline, according to a presentation from the board’s June 8 meeting.
Funding for the incentive comes from $900,000 in the district’s management fund, with $800,000 set aside for teachers, and $100,000 for the administrators.
Hogan says teachers or administrators who don’t want to accept the offer “can stay and remain teaching or being an administrator for the school district.”
“Or there’s still the voluntary retirement incentive that we have and that deadline isn’t until February 1st,” Hogan added.
Members Cindy Garlock, Laura Zimmerman and Kaitlin Byers were not present.
The board will vote on their plan for the teachers in July.