Superintendent Erik Smith addresses the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Board of Education during their regular meeting held on Feb. 16. Smith and the board spent much of their time discussing a policy that would implement an early retirement incentive policy for up to three staff members for the 2021-22 school year. – Photo by Darvin Graham

In a 4-3 split vote the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Board of Education voted in favor of offering an early retirement incentive to district employees with an application deadline of March 17.

The proposed incentive policy was first before the board during their January meeting but failed to pass following two votes that sought to amend the plan in ways that would reduce the number of approved applicants as well as limit the insurance benefit being offered.

The policy was brought back before the board during their regular meeting on Feb. 16.

Those opposed to the incentive expressed concerns that investing in moving longer-tenured staff toward earlier retirement would be a risk that might not yield enough of a reward not knowing who would be hired to replace the retiring staff members.

“I feel that it is an unknown expenditure,” Board Director Susie Petersen said. “I think we need to be more fiscally responsible. I am not in favor of early retirement, it is solely a business decision and is not an emotional decision for me.”

The Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School Board of Education gathers for their regular meeting on Feb. 16. The board voted 4-3 in favor of an early retirement incentive policy meant to help stabilize the district financially as it considers investment in salary increases for teachers and new hires. – Photo by Darvin Graham

One of the goals cited by Superintendent Erik Smith during discussion of the early retirement incentive on Wednesday would be for Gladbrook-Reinbeck to have the ability to raise teacher salaries in order to remain competitive in the hiring market when trying to attract top talent.

Petersen said she believed the district had the capacity to consider salary increases without the need for a retirement incentive.

The swing vote that appears to have pushed the one-year policy across the finish line during the February meeting came from Director Lisa Swanson who also spoke about concerns of creating job openings during a difficult time in the hiring market but also about a desire to see Gladbrook-Reinbeck compete to hire and retain top teacher talent.

“I deal every day trying to fill 280 positions and it’s a constant revolving door,” Swanson, a human resources professional in the healthcare industry said. “Unless we can take this money and turn around and reinvest it back into increasing that starting salary, all we’re going to get are (employees) that settle. They’re going to stay in our district for one or two years, because we have an open position close to where they want to be. And as soon as what they want opens up, they’re going to move on. We’re also not going to get the cream of the crop because our starting salary is low and that’s not what I want.”

Smith said in previous conversations he’s had with G-R administrators that he believes there are education professionals in and around the community looking for positions and opportunities at Gladbrook-Reinbeck and that the openings created by the early retirement incentive policy would not be difficult to fill.

He also went on to say that he’s been working on a four or five-year plan that he would like to bring before teachers that would provide some options for increasing salaries and starting salaries to help address the goal of remaining competitive in the hiring market.

To do that, Smith proposed the early retirement incentive policy as means of having more gradual control over the district’s unspent balance fund as opposed to a more drastic approach of investing in salary increases without the offset of early retirement incentives.

“This helps so we can manage (our unspent balance) in a way that is controlled for the district and give (staff) some sort of good compensation,” Smith said. It’s a slower, much more manageable piece of the puzzle.”

Following a round of lengthy discussion the policy moved to a vote with Swanson joining Board President Donovan Devore, Vice President Matt Wyatt and Director Christine Farley in favor with directors Petersen, Rod Brockett and Doug Rowe voting in opposition.

The early retirement incentive policy for the 2021-22 school year is the first time since the 2013-14 school year that Gladbrook-Reinbeck has offered early retirement with the final participants phasing out of the insurance benefit portion only recently.

Employees receiving the early retirement benefit will receive both a cash payout and insurance coverage.

The cash payout is based on the employee’s total unused accrued sick leave at a rate of $100 per day. It will be paid as a lump sum payment into a 403(b) account. Employees would also be granted continuation of their insurance benefits until they reach the age of Medicare eligibility as set out in a provision of the Iowa Code for group insurance for public employees.

This would mean at maximum, a G-R employee taking the early retirement benefit could see as much as 10 years of their insurance covered given then margin between the early retirement eligibility age of 55 and the Medicare eligibility age of 65.

The early retirement benefit will be offered to a maximum of three employees. Should more than three employees apply, the benefit will be offered based on seniority.

In other business…

-Olivia Eicklenborg was hired as a full-time substitute for the G-R district through the end of the school year.

The board addressed the position of the HS Vocational Ag Instructor/FFA Advisor at G-R. The position will move to full-time for the 2022-23 school year as the Dike-New Hartford District recently moved to take their program from part-time to full-time which would leave G-R without a sharing partner. During the Feb. 16 meeting the board accepted the resignation of former Ag Instructor Hunter Hamilton and approved the hiring of Zachary Rankin as his replacement in a full-time capacity. Rankin will work with the junior high level as one of the benefits of the growing agriculture program at G-R.

-Bid documents were approved for the demolition of the vacant school building in Gladbrook. The project is currently out for bid through Align Architecture. The project would seek to remove everything that is contained on the school property except for the sidewalks. Superintendent Smith said he had been in communication with Gladbrook Mayor Trudi Scott about potential options for buses to remain at a location in Gladbrook, though a specific plan is yet to be determined. Smith indicated the district will do their best to coordinate the demolition to not interfere with the Corn Carnival event in June.

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