By Dave Lieber
watchdog@star-telegram.com
In some Texas school districts, retirement doesn't always mean retirement. Sometimes administrators retire and then return to work as part-time independent contractors.
In these trying financial times, districts say it's a way to save precious money. For so-called retirees, it's a way to get a big pension check and high-paying part-time jobs. But it's not the kind of sweetheart deal most of the rest of us can ever hope to see.
"It's not a golden parachute. It's a safety net," says Larry West, who organizes Keller district personnel for the United Educators Association. "When a teacher or a paraprofessional falls, there's no safety net. But there is one underneath most administrators. They have a safety net because the administrators making these decisions know these people very well. They say, 'We'll make sure these people aren't hurt too badly.'"
Take the case of Vicki Burris, who worked as a $120,000-a-year assistant superintendent of business for the Keller school district. In mid-June, two weeks before her scheduled retirement, she signed a one-year contract on behalf of her new consulting business, Results Centered Solutions of Northlake. Keller Superintendent James Veitenheimer also signed the contract.
The deal promises to pay her $60,000, half of what was her annual salary. Her job duties are essentially what she did before.
Her last day of work was June 30. On Aug. 18, the school board approved her company's hiring, retroactive to Aug. 1. A day after the vote, she was paid $40,000, with the remaining $20,000 coming at the end of her contract.
Proper procedures were followed under state educator retirement rules, state officials say.
"Based on the information provided, no policies have been broken," said Howard Goldman, spokesman for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
Under state law, a retiree can, after one month away, return to work on a half-time basis without forfeiting an annuity, the TRS says. Entering into a contract before retirement is allowed, too.
Under the new arrangement, Burris must pay surcharges to the TRS for pension and health benefits. The TRS said it intended to contact her and the district to make sure this was happening.
"We have requested additional information to make a complete determination," Goldman says.
Burris did not return phone calls.
Jenny LaCoste-Caputo, spokeswoman for the Texas Association of School Administrators, said: "It's not something that happens a lot. In these tough budget times, we might see more of it. It actually saves the district money because they're paying half her salary. ... I can see where the district, because of financial strains, might be looking at different options to save money."
In answer to a Public Information Act request by The Watchdog to view Burris' contract, the district released a statement. The unsigned explanation says that after voters rejected a school tax increase in June, the district cut 11/2 senior administration jobs.
Hiring Burris, who had announced her retirement in the spring, for half her salary is a "financial efficiency that saved enough money for one teacher," the statement says.
Keller school board President Kevin Stevenson told me: "She's doing a lot of her job for half of the price. It's a good utilization of resources."
He added, "I'm pleased she's still around."
In her old job, she oversaw maintenance and operations, facilities planning and development, contracted services and school construction projects.
The district's purchase order for her first payment says Burris' company will "provide management and supervision of programs and personnel in the business function." According to her contract, she oversees maintenance and operations, child nutrition, construction, planning and transportation.
District spokesman Bryce Nieman says some of Burris' old responsibilities were given to other employees. The outside contractor will also evaluate district employees, he said. Although she's a top-level business administrator, Burris does not get a district-issued cellphone, because she's no longer an employee.
School board members spent months making tough budget and personnel cuts. In August, at the same board meeting where Burris' new arrangement was approved, board members were surprised when business administrators presented them a budget showing a $6 million surplus.
One question I put to the district: If an administrator making $120,000 a year can come back at half-time making $60,000 for doing mostly the same job, was the administrator originally overpaid or underworked?
Nieman said the district doesn't believe that to be the case. "Thus far, we are pleased with the arrangement and are happy to see that the business function has been able to adapt to the new structure."
The Watchdog column appears Fridays and Sundays.Dave Lieber, 817-390-7043Twitter @DaveLieber
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