Nearly 1,000 teachers and other staff in the San Diego Unified School District plan to retire at the end of the year. They’re taking the district up on an offer meant to help address its budget deficit.
The district’s Supplemental Early Retirement Plan gives eligible teachers 70% of their current pay, paid out over the course of several years.
The district expected 755 staff to take the retirement plan. Instead, 969 did. The district said it will help avoid a large number of layoffs as it works to address its budget deficit.
Casey Hickenbottom, a second grade teacher at Johnson Elementary School, who’s taught in the district for 23 years, is taking it.
“The way things are going, this is perfect for me,” he said. “It couldn't come at a better time.”
Hickenbottom said he’s worried about what President Donald Trump’s administration will mean for education, civil rights, reproductive rights and immigration. Last week, Trump ordered officials to plan to eliminate federal funds for schools that teach about systemic racism or provide supportive services to trans youth.
He’s planning to move to Thailand in the summer.
“I just want to be, honestly, as far away from America as I can get,” he said.
He’s only 57, so he’s retiring a few years earlier than he’d expected. There’s a lot he’ll miss about the job.
“The joy of teaching somebody how to read and watching that light bulb go on, how proud they become of doing that. I’ll miss a lot of that,” he said. “Helping kids who really struggle and finding what they need to be successful and giving it to them.”
The retirement plan is one piece of the district’s strategy to close its budget gap.
Since October, the district has reduced its deficit from $176 million to $112 million. Those savings come from staff vacancies, increases in revenue projections from some state and federal programs and an increase in the percentage of students who bring the district additional state funding, such as English language learners or students in foster care.
Declining enrollment, an end to federal pandemic aid and increased student needs have contributed to the deficit.
District leaders expect enrollment to drop by about 750 students next school year. If that happens, enrollment will have dropped by nearly 12% in the last decade. Fewer students means less state funding.
“We have an opportunity, and need to take the opportunity, to reshape our district and best align to our realities,” W. Drew Rolands, the district’s deputy superintendent of operations, said at a budget meeting Tuesday night.
District leaders said special education staffing will be a challenge next year. Education specialists and paraeducators are among those taking the early retirement plan, they said.
Next, the district’s central office and each school will work on their own budgets. The school board will hear an update in March and adopt a final, balanced budget in June.
