Johnson’s bill on retired teachers returning to the classroom becomes law

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    AUGUSTA — A bill introduced by Rep. Peter Johnson of Greenville to allow retired teachers to return to the classroom for a specified time and compensation was passed overwhelmingly in the House and Senate earlier in the Legislative session.
    But the bill was vetoed by Gov. Paul LePage, who wrote that “if a significant number of teachers take advantage of this, it will become a financial burden to the teachers’ retirement fund.”

    LePage also said the law would “clog up the teaching profession with teachers at or beyond retirement age, making it more difficult for younger teachers to find positions.”
    However, last Wednesday (March 19), the House voted to override the bill 133-5 and the Senate followed suit the next day, 29-5. It was the eighth veto overridden during this legislative session.
    Representatives Paul Davis and Ray Wallace joined Johnson in supporting the bill; Sen. Doug Thomas of Ripley opposed it.
    Johnson told the Observer that while he shares some of the governor’s philosophy about minimizing “double-dipping” — working while drawing retirement pay — there are valid reasons for this bill. “I asked to put this in by Paul Stearns just before he retired as SAD 4 superintendent,” Johnson said.
    Stearns had three teachers in the district who had recently retired and two of them wanted to come back as ed techs, Johnson said. “Under the current law, they would be paid 75 percent of the position’s salary right off,” he explained. “The ed techs don’t make that much money anyhow; and at 75 percent, they’d make even less.”
    Johnson’s bill (LD 39) allows teachers and education technicians to return to teaching one year after retirement for full pay for five years and 75 percent compensation for an additional five years.
    The retired employee must have had a bona fide termination in accordance with state and federal laws and rules and may not return to work after retirement with the same employer for at least 30 calendar days after their termination date.
    The third teacher cited by Stearns is an advanced placement (AP) educator, which Johnson said “are in very short supply, especially in rural districts. I talked to several other superintendents who were in the same situation as Paul (Stearns.) So I’m glad to see the bill become law.”
    Sen. Rebecca Millett of Cape Elizabeth, the senate chair of the Education Committee, described the LD 39 as “an important step to help all districts — especially those in rural Maine — attract and retain high quality teachers for their students. We should be doing everything we can to keep great teachers in the classroom.”
    Stearns is now running for Johnson’s House District 119 seat since the Greenville lawmaker has reached his maximum four terms of service. “I’ll miss part of it, especially serving my constituents, “Johnson said, “but I won’t miss spending six months out of the year in Augusta.”