BCLUW board approves early retirement package

The BCLUW school district will offer an early retirement package for staff members who meet a certain set of criteria at 50 percent of their current salary this year after the board approved the plan at Monday night’s regular meeting.
           
Superintendent Ben Petty explained that the district is not required to offer early retirement every year but can do so when it feels that it would be financially advantageous.
 
“We’ve tried to use it strategically,” Petty said. “We are reaching a point with some enrollment drop where, in my mind, we’re starting to think a little more about the general fund.”
 
According to business manager Paula Benson, staff members must amass at least 15 years of service to the district and be at least 55 years old to qualify for the program, and they are then paid 50 percent of their current salary over a two-year period. Teachers and support staff have until December 15 to apply. 
 
The board had more visitors than usual as the Awesome Aces and Spectacular Spades groups performed their routines with science based remixes of the hits “Uptown Funk” and “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.” Water filtration and conservation were the focuses of this year’s projects, and board members asked about how they could be applied to real world situations. 
 
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