Hot off the Press: After careful study of the proposal and data the District gave to the PFF and CCE regarding a potential Supplemental Retirement Program (SRP), it became very clear that a traditional SRP or “Golden Handshake” is not financially or logistically feasible at this time. However, the District did agree to offer an early notification bonus of $3000 for permanent full-time faculty, who submit their retirement paperwork by February 21st with the intent to retire by June 30, 2020. This will help the District plan for fiscal year 2020-21 and avoid deeper cuts and layoffs.
Facts:
The District did not have a funding source identified for the payout of a SRP.
There was no evidence that a SRP would yield significant savings. In fact, it could have cost the District money we don’t currently have.
The timing was bad. Generally SRP discussions start in the summer before a SRP is announced. In this case, the PFF and CCE did not get a proposal until late October and we did not receive the information we requested to do our due diligence until November 19th.
When we met to discuss a SRP proposal two weeks ago and showed the District that the proposal would not save the District any significant money, the PFF and CCE suggested that the District offer an early notification bonus to encourage people to submit their paperwork and give the District a clearer idea of expected retirements. This is so the District can plan staffing levels and, hopefully, avoid the need to layoff faculty and staff.
On Tuesday of this week, PFF and CCE signed an MOU with the District offering the $3000 early notification bonus to those who submit their retirement paperwork to HRS between January 1 and February 21, 2020. The money for these bonuses will come from the saved salaries of one or two of the retirees.
Bottom Line: The PFF and CCE continue to work together to find ways that the District can close the deficit caused by the previous mismanagement of the District without negatively impacting students and staff.