Chillicothe board acts to encourage some to stay, others to go

CHILLICOTHE - Chillicothe City Schools' administrators will get a boost to their retirement coffers while longtime employees will be incentivized to retire next year after recent actions by the school board.

On Monday, the board approved putting another 2 percent into the administrators' retirement accounts and also approved pursuing a plan to offer any staff with more than ten years with the district up to $40,000 to retire at the end of next year.

The board action came amidst a review of the newest five-year forecast for the district by Treasurer Deborah Lawwell. She anticipates spending will outpace revenue beginning next year unless the board passes the levy rejected by voters earlier this month.

The increased retirement contribution is a trade-off for administrators. This is the third year they agreed to a 2 percent increase in the district's contribution to their retirement accounts instead of an increase in base pay. Based on salaries for 11 administrators, the combined one-year cost will be about $20,000.

"The administration is satisfied with it. They're still getting their 2 percent in a sense," said treasurer Deborah Lawwell during Monday's finance committee.

Board President Steve Mullins said the retirement pickup helps to keep the salary schedule in better alignment for those administrators who stay for several years.

As for the severance plan proposed, the expectation is it will ultimately save the district money. Full-time administrators and teachers with at least ten years with the district as of June 30, 2019, would be offered $40,000 to move forward with retiring and the money would be placed into a post-employment 403(b) account. Classified staff would be offered 100 percent on their salary up to $25,000 if they took the offer.

The savings comes in because the more experienced, higher-paid staff would be replaced by those with less experience at a lower rate.

While the board elected to move forward with implementing the plan, it will only do so if the unions are agreeable. Lawwell said she has meetings with union leadership scheduled this week.

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"You're almost saving in that first year what you paid them ... that could help if we don't get the levy (passed)," Lawwell said.

The board hasn't yet voted to place the 3.5-mill substitute levy back on the ballot in November, but Lawwell expressed support of it on Monday. The proposed levy was set to replace a 3.9-mill operating levy approved in 2013 and set to expire at the end of the year.

Without it, Lawwell forecasts the district will begin dipping into about $490,000 of cash reserves in 2019 unless they cut expenses. If the district tries for the levy again and voters approve, the district isn't forecasted to outspend revenues until 2020 by about $10,000.

In other board action, Assistant Superintendent Debbie Swinehart was appointed to temporarily fill in for Superintendent Jon Saxton who went on leave under the Family Medical Leave Act earlier this month for an unspecified period. Swinehart's pay will remain unchanged during the appointment which will continue until she is removed, Saxton returns, or Saxton's contract expires which isn't until 2022.