If it's so easy then why aren't YOU a teacher ?
Working after retiring is common in all types of work.
What's the difference if I retire from the school system,
they pay me a pension and PAY someone else to replace me.
OK, I'm preventing someone from getting a job.
Is there a difference if I retire from the school system
and then work at Walmart .. ?
ohhh.. I'm preventing someone from getting a job.
McDonald's ?
Instead, if the school system decides to re-hire ME,
the budget remains the same as if they hired a replacement...
actually, a LOWER budget because they wouldn't have to pay any more medical, etc ..
AND, they'd be getting an experienced teacher.

Yes Joe, there is. Working at Walmart isn't causing the taxpayer to pay you twice. When you retired, you had to be replaced, yet you still collect your pension and then want to go back to work at the same positon you were in and be paid at the same step level you recieved before plus collect your pension. We may not be paying healthcare but now we have paid two people for the position and your pension.

No matter which way you want to try to spin it, the taxpayer is paying twice. I suggest that if we need to keep experienced teachers and administrators, we up the retirement age to 60 or 62.

If I retire from a factory and I am collecting a pension, then I would not beable to return to work for the same pay in the same job and collect a pension.

C- seriously - do you honestly believe what you just said. Handed everything ? What are you smokin man. Some Teaparty junk? Jealous much? You too can become a teacher.

to Brian Day:
> if the school system decides to re-hire ME,
the budget remains the same as if they hired a replacement...
actually, a LOWER budget because they wouldn't have to pay any more medical, etc ..
AND, they'd be getting an experienced teacher.

... and YES, I worked for General Motors, retired with a pension and could have returned to work as a new-hire.

My point Joe. You are brought back as a new hire.

@Joe, Drive

First off, yes I believe what I wrote, why would I have written it otherwise? It what I said is all factual, look it up yourself. Or, stay ignorant, which is what I assume you'll do.

Secondly, I don't want to be a teacher, I have a little more self respect than to become some lazy mindless union sheep.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.

@Gearhead - do you believe that retirees should not be used as substitute teachers? I ask because you only addressed the situation with Dr. Lang.

Gearhead- I may be wrong, but I believe, at least according to what I saw of her contract, that she is postponing her pension. And I would neverquestion her dedication to improving education. But there are others that are truly double-dipping.

I think the solution is actually pretty simple. Raise the retirement age to 62 from 55. If our children are benefitting from having the more experienced teacher in the classroom, then fine, retire at a more appropriate age.

@Heather

Why don't you be a REAL reporter and look at the abuse going on? Teachers setting up sweetheart deals, illegally ahead of time, to retire, then get rehired right away at full pay plus pension.

In the district I worked in, returning retirees did not pay more into the pension system nor did the district.

Don't be too sure...

Really? I'd love to hear you explain this.

Did you see the WEDC is after the pension? I saw a little blurb about that buried in the JT. They wanted 200 million for "venture capital." That is a shot across the bow to public sector workers/ future retirees. That pension will be drained like a swamp by the Magiver Institute crowd before long.
That is how they do folk in the private sector. They raid the pension to fund corporate bonuses. It is only fair to decimate the public pension too. Sorry, buddy.

Brian, you tell us how it (the pension) is funded. You were on the BOE a few years back, and are best suited to give the rest of us the lowdown.

Ed Holladay- I left the Board in 2008. At that time, pensions, as with all compensation, was funded as any other school district line item was funded. That is, one third funded by district tax revenues and two thirds funded by state revenues. All money expended by the district, whether it be salay, benefits or school expenditures comes from tax dollars. Obviously that has changed with Act 10 where employees and the district's liability has been ore clearly defined.

Prior to At 10, the district had to contribute to the Wisconsn Employee's Pension Fund about 11.2% of the total salary and paid it back to the WRS as a line item in the budget. Under Act 10, that figure was split with an actual payment of 50% by the employee, or 5.6%.

I understand what Drive to 24 is saying somewhat, as the unions have been tryig to say that because this is a deferred compensation, and the WRS Fund is not fully funded by tax dollars (88.8% is funded through investments and dividends returned on investments), that somehow, the taxpayer is magically eliminated from the equation. But that isn't true as the seed dollars com from the taxayer. Even the employee contribution derives from tax dollars.

I'm not sure on the dates, but between the time she retired and nthe time she was selected as Interem Supt., she remained on as a special administrator to fix the Special Educaton department and bring them current wit state and federal law. She did an excellent job with that I might add.

I'm not sure if during that time frame she was collecting a pension and a salary, but I'm pretty sure that in her current role, she is not cllecting both.

Eddy, Eddy, Eddy. Where is your outrage about the draft dodging scumbag Lehman that is also double dipping?? Who knows, he may even get a pension from Canada. Once again, selective outrage by the extreme left.

I am not really even outraged at Van, and I am not part of the extreme left. I was just curious if the talk radio crowd ripping Laing (for alleged double dipping), was also outraged at Van (one of their heroes).
We have a lot more waste to be concerned with than "double dipping." We have all kinds of shenanigans going on far worse. We have massive sweetheart deals (from local to federal level), corporate welfare, entitlement fraud, agencies (like the pentagon and state dept. etc...) losing track of billions....
Lehman, Laing and Wangaard are old people (Van is maybe a bit younger) who worked for many years contributing to society . In the grand scheme of thing, their double dipping is small potatoes. That is my take anyway.

Vote Ed to State Senator! Go Ed.

Ed Holladay- As long as they meet the years of service and are age 55 or older, they do not adjust your pension based on how old you were. Generally, the 3 best salary years determines how much your pension compensation is.

Thanks, Brian

Eddy, Eddy, Eddy, you still didn't answer the question. You started off your rant by slamming Van! Could it be the reason was, that he was associated with Walker. And this is the real cause of your hatred? BINGO!!!!!

Tan, I did answer your question. It is on the thread above. Maybe you did not like or accept my answer.

Pension is based on 3 highest years of earnings, number of years of service and a formula factor. Which means if you retire earlier, you have fewer years of service which results in a smaller pension.

The next super will make more. It is getting outrageous. We pay the teachers less, or freeze their pay. At the same time the pay for district supers is seemingly moving right along. odd.
I still think our elected officials should not get a pass on this. They can pay for their campaigns like everyone else, and forgo double dipping.

Bravo. Well stated!

hurry Johnny, get in the bunker... the gov'ment is coming!!

So i guess you believe in the violence of forced taxation ... Whats wrong with Freedom and Liberty? ... I guess Ed you don't believe in the US Constitution .. you believe the government is your god .. Well the government isn't mine

And you don't believe in Private Property rights either .. the state should own your land and tell you what to do .. must be nice to be an ignorant lemming, don't think to hard you might hurt yourself

I get it your a Public school teacher and the only way you can make it is to force people with jail time to pay your salary .. must make you feel good collecting blood money .. how do you sleep at night

Johnny, I should not have rattled your cage like that. Sorry to upset you. Taxation is forcible, but it pays for a lot of things: roads, courts, wars, elected officials, public safety, subsidies, entitlements... Why are you so upset just at schools?
When did I say I was a teacher or government is my God? My God is the God of Isaac and Abraham. Jesus said, "give to Caesar what is Caesar's."

Wrong. Based on years of service. If you work past the 30 years, The calculation includes your three best finacial years of service after 30 years. It is still based on that for early retirees but you only rceive a percentage based on the number of years employed. I am specifically referring to teacher uninion retirements and based on my knowledge as a negotiator of those contracts between 2005 and 2008.