The Florida State Legislature, in an attempt to keep soon-to-be-retired high school teachers in quickly overcrowding classrooms, has extended the state's Deferred Retirement Option Program for another three years. DROP allows teachers to work past their retirement age while earning interest in retirement benefits. While this is a noble effort to keep teachers in schools that desperately need staffing, the question of whether they are staying for the right reasons needs to be raised.
The DROP program has enticed approximately 250 teachers to continue the stressful occupation, which helps keep class size low during the current shortage of young teachers.
However, teachers staying solely because of the added benefits are something administrators must guard against. School systems should develop an evaluation program that would rate teachers on their performance, in an effort to determine if they are willing and qualified enough to take part in the DROP program.
Many teachers truly love their craft, and it is these individuals who should be taking advantage of the DROP program. Since they have accumulated so many years of experience, most would be far more experienced than any new recruits that the Florida school system could manage to hire. If these teachers want to keep teaching far into their retirement, they should be allowed to, especially with the flow of students that increases each year.
Because DROP must be extended by the state legislature, there is always a chance that it may be voted down when the program period expires. DROP would be much more beneficial if it was a permanent program, because it would draw in more prospective teachers as well as keep those who enjoy the profession on staff longer.
Of course, cost is always an issue when dealing with a program like this. If too many teachers opt to stay on board because of DROP, schools may have difficulty paying salaries. New teachers tend to receive a smaller paycheck than ones that are experienced and on tenure, so many schools may go over payroll if there are too many DROP-enrolled teachers.
DROP is definitely a step in the right direction for struggling schools, but it isn't without its flaws. Teacher abuse of the program, as well as the cost and instability are factors that negatively affect DROP. However, if these problems are adequately ironed out, the DROP program can definitely benefit the floundering number of teachers in the U.S. school system.
Teaching is one of the most important professions in America, and teachers deserve a benefits program such as this. Schools should welcome those teachers who genuinely care about their job and want to teach after their retirement, and not force them out into a life where all that awaits them is a social security check.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
