PORTLAND – School officials have extended the deadline for eligible employees to accept a retirement incentive, in the hope that more people will take it, the school district announced Thursday.

Forty-one of about 200 eligible workers had accepted the offer as of Monday’s original deadline.

Now, the rest have until March 15 to consider the incentive, which includes a one-time payout ranging from $10,000 to as much as $20,000, for higher-paid employees.

The incentive also reduces the time that employees must have worked in the district to be eligible for retirement. In past years, the service minimum was 25 years. Under the incentive, it’s 10 years.

The school board will decide whether to go through with the incentive program based on how many employees accept the offer and how it would benefit the district.

Superintendent Jim Morse presented a $92.7 million budget Tuesday that calls for eliminating as many as 81 positions in the coming school year.

Targeted positions include 31 teachers, 38 educational technicians, six administrators, three custodians and one secretary. The district has nearly 1,200 employees.

It’s unclear how many people may be laid off, or how many jobs may be saved by the retirement incentive, because some employees who retire will be replaced, likely by workers who earn lower salaries, Morse said.

The 41 initial takers earn annual salaries and benefits totaling $2.6 million.

Staff Writer Kelley Bouchard can be contacted at 791-6328 or at:

kbouchard@pressherald.com

 

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