GORHAM – The Gorham School Committee was scheduled Wednesday to consider action on a proposed teacher retirement incentive program.

Under the incentive, if approved, the Gorham School Department would offer eligible teachers a lump sum $10,000 to retire. Payments would be made by June 30, the end of the current fiscal year. The meeting was held after the American Journal deadline Wednesday.

Gorham Superintendent Ted Sharp said Wednesday before the meeting the incentive is “a cost-savings measure given the financial/economic times. Several schools in Cumberland County have been doing this over the past few years for the same reason. You secure the savings by replacing people at the top of the scale with those who are not.”

For the Gorham offer, teachers must be eligible for retirement; apply for retirement with the Maine Public Employee Retirement System; and must have worked as a teacher for at least 10 years in the Gorham School Department. They must be at least age 60 or 62, depending on dates of service.

Gorham teachers would be required to submit an application to Sharp by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 2.

James Hager, chairman of Gorham School Committee, said in last week’s Town Council meeting that the School Department would have an all-day budget presentation on Saturday, March 10.