O'Fallon High School Principal Steve Dirnbeck says it's time for younger blood at the high school, but really he's being too modest.
At age 55, Dirnbeck is just the sort of experienced educator we want and need in our public education system. He has a wealth of knowledge he can give to students and teachers alike.
Unfortunately, Illinois' pension plan gives him a financial disincentive to remain. Dirnbeck said that people who stay on after they reach their full retirement benefits work for about 10 percent of their salary. Few educators are interested in that deal, and who can blame them?
O'Fallon is lucky. Dirnbeck is choosing to stay around a year longer than is required just because he wants to oversee the ninth-grade campus project.
Still, losing good educators in their prime is something lawmakers need to discuss. They can't raise retirement pay; educators are already getting close to their full pay in retirement. But they can raise the age at which an educator is eligible to retire.
The federal government has done that with Social Security for all workers as a way to contain costs. Raising the age for teachers and school administrators would help the state teacher retirement program, which in October had enough money to cover just 63.8 percent of its liabilities. More importantly, raising the retirement age would ensure that our students benefit longer from teachers' and administrators' wealth of knowledge.
