DES MOINES, Iowa — Longtime Des Moines school district employees have more than 100,000 reasons to stay on the job for another full year and they will get a little more time to think about it. Des Moines Public Schools administrators have extended their incentives offer to convince longtime educators to stay on the job longer.
The district originally planned a June deadline for teachers and administrators to declare whether they would remain on the job until June 2023. Now, employees need to decide by September.
There is a nationwide teacher shortage, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Des Moines Schools still need 95 teachers for the school year, which begins in three weeks, according to district spokeswoman Amanda Lewis.
Here’s the offer:
- Employees must be at least 60 years old and serve the district at least 15 years by June, 2023.
- Employees can get a $50,000 payment (on top of their salary and benefits) if they work a full year in the 2022-2023 school year.
- Some employees — depending on their employment agreement — can also receive $2,500 for each year of service.
Lewis said that 58 employees have accepted the incentive package.
Longtime educators can add significant amounts to their retirement savings if they agree to the incentives package.
Here are some examples:
- 15-year educator: $87,500
- 20-year educator: $100,000
- 25-year educator: $112,500
- 30-year educator: $125,000
- 35-year educator: $137,500
