When Savannah-Chatham public schools students return from the Thanksgiving break, several of their teachers and principals will embark on a permanent holiday.
Thirty-five certified staff members will retire Nov. 30, including Georgetown K-8 Principal Joe Thomas, White Bluff Elementary Principal Lisa Darley and JG Smith Elementary Principal Jane Tyler.
The mid-year exodus is the result of recent benefit cuts by the Georgia Teachers Retirement System. After Nov. 30, the Teachers Retirement System will stop offsetting the state tax on retirement income.
“Those who retire now won’t have to forgo the assistance,” said School Board President Joe Buck. “But they’re going to have to leave their jobs in the middle of the semester just before the holiday season.”
Each year the Teachers Retirement System Board of Trustees grants certified school retirees a 3 percent state tax offset for the first $37,500 in retirement benefits they receive.
Because the state of Georgia also offers special exemptions on retirement income, the Teachers Retirement System decided they would stop providing their 3 percent offset.
“The discretionary tax offset adjustment currently being granted by the board when a member retires is no longer necessary, as retirees are now able to exclude up to $65,000 of their retirement income from state income taxes,” Teachers Retirement System Executive Director Jeffrey L. Ezell wrote in a notice to the public school employees paying into the retirement system.
All those who retire before the benefit ends on Nov. 30 will continue to get the 3 percent state tax offset from the Teachers Retirement System and the $35,000 to $65,000 tax exclusion from the state. Those who don’t retire before the cutoff date will miss out on a significant savings.
“The 3 percent assistance will end Dec. 1,” said Savannah-Chatham Human Resources Director Ramon Ray. “It saves about $1,125 per year for those retiring at $37,500.”
Ray said the district asked for an extension but has not received a response. In the meantime, they are working to fill the positions being vacated by the 35 retiring certified staffers.
“We have been advertising since September,” Ray said. “We are currently filling the positions.”