ROCK SPRINGS — The Sweetwater County School District No. 1 board of trustees unanimously approved an early retirement incentive to go in effect for the current 2023-2024 school year.
Nicole Bolton, the district’s assistant superintendent, said that while the district’s budget is balanced for next year, they are looking at “quite a deficit” the following year. In an attempt to save money in staffing, they are offering an early retirement incentive.
Bolton said that elementary enrollment is still going down, and two schools are not at capacity. She said they need to absorb positions, and she believes an incentive for those of retirement age could be a solution while still keeping classroom sizes under 20 students.
The incentive would be for up to $1,000 a month for up to five years until the retired employee reaches Medicare qualifying age. The incentive would max out at $60,000 per employee.
For an employee to apply for the 2024 Early Retirement Incentive, they must meet certain eligibility requirements by the end of their 2023-2024 contract year. One of those requirements includes having completed a minimum of 15 years of cumulative credited service with the district immediately prior to the effective of severance. A year of service is defined and equal to 185 contract days for nine month employees; 205 contract days for 10 month employees; and 260 contract days for 12 month employees.
The employee must also be eligible for retirement under the Wyoming Retirement System. Eligible employees wishing to terminate employment at the end of the 2023-2024 contract year should apply before 4 p.m. on Feb. 2, 2024.
