Fultondale High School guidance counselor Sheila Scott is retiring on Dec. 1, against her wishes. Scott is among many in the state who must either retire by December or take a hit to their paychecks from increased retirement contributions and medical insurance premiums. Scott is only 52 and had no intentions of retiring any time soon.

FIRST OF A SERIES

Guidance counselor Sheila Scott sits in a small office at Fultondale High School, surrounded by a fair amount of clutter which has accumulated over a 32-year career.

Among the items are gifts from students — who won’t be seeing her after Dec. 1.

It’s a job that will come to an end far earlier than she had planned. But it’s an early end that has been forced on her, as well as many colleagues among the state’s public-school employees.

Because of a new law passed by the Alabama Legislature late in its 2011 regular session, Scott and others had a choice: Take a big hit to their paychecks from increased retirement contributions and

medical insurance premiums, or retire right away.

Many are choosing the latter. They’re retiring, right in the middle of the fall semester.

“I had not anticipated retiring this soon. I’m only 52,” Scott said.

The exodus not only affects those retiring, but the schools they leave behind. Besides Scott, Fultondale is losing one other teacher, with two more still making their decision by Monday.

Over at Fultondale Elementary, Principal Cynde Cornelius is leaving, as is her longtime office administrator and two teachers.

Mortimer Jordan High School is losing one teacher — longtime teacher and coach John Houge, who was sent off in a pep rally Friday — but its feeder system of schools is losing 24 positions, though not all of them are tied to specific personnel at present.

The story is a complicated one, with ties to the Republican takeover of the legislature in the last election, that party’s longtime battles with the Alabama Education Association and former director Paul Hubbert, the state’s $700 million budget shortfall, and even the Jefferson County sewer-debt crisis.

The GOP, faced with a shortfall that had to be fixed to meet a requirement of a balanced budget, voted through a bill which increased retirement contributions for state employees from 5 to 7.25 percent next year, and 7.5 the year following. Their portion of health-insurance premiums went up as well, and the percentage of benefit reduction for employees who retired before 25 years of service doubled.

To avoid the financial penalty, employees with 10 years or more of service had only one option: Retire before the end of the year. That deadline affected all state employees.

But schools don’t run on a calendar year, so a departure date of Dec. 1 — necessary to make sure all the paperwork is complete before year’s end — means disruptions for students, and the school staffs left behind.

“I’m in charge of graduation testing and remediation,” Scott said. “I’m also responsible for all the scholarships and financial aid programs that we do. I work with our seniors to make sure they are going to graduate on time. I’m especially worried about my seniors, because I have all of their scholarship information. Here we are in the middle of the school year and their senior counselor leaves — that’s not good.”

Legislators didn’t realize that the deadline would cause such a problem for schools, and few knew when the deadline would be, according to State Rep. Allen Treadaway (R-Gardendale).

“I certainly would not have supported it if I had I known earlier on,” Treadaway said. “It wasn’t understood by those of us in the House. By the time we did, the bill was in the Senate, and there wasn’t enough time left [in the regular session] to fix it.”

Treadaway said legislators had hoped to address the problem in a special session, which they anticipated Gov. Robert Bentley would call regarding the country sewer debt crisis. But negotiators in that issue are still far apart, so with no legislation to vote on, Bentley didn’t call the session.

Still, Treadaway said action needed to be taken, because of the budget shortfall and the rising cost of benefits.

“The state pension system has $9 billion in unfunded liabilities. And the costs of PEEHIP [the state workers’ health insurance plan] have far outpaced the cost of living,” he said. “The rainy-day fund was depleted, and there was no money coming from the federal government, so we were not able to count on some of the dollars that were there in the past. They were depleted when the GOP came into power.”

Besides a major life decision forced upon many school employees earlier than they had planned, there’s also the problem of health insurance for those who exit early, and won’t qualify for Medicare until age 65.

For Scott, that means 13 years in insurance limbo, which also affects her family. “People like her, with a long time in the system but several years before they’re eligible for Medicare, are the ones that are most affected,” said FHS secretary Marilyn Fike. “Sheila’s on the family plan with a child in college, and the rate would increase over the next five years.”

Fike is in a similar situation, with only 16 years of service but close to Medicare age. But she’s staying on, even though it will cost her about $960 a year for the rest of her life.

Fike, among others, thinks Retirement Systems of Alabama was caught off guard by the bill, and that there was also a measure of political payback by Republicans against Hubbert, who retired recently because of health issues. [Disclosure: RSA is a majority stockholder in CNHI, the parent company of The North Jefferson News.]

“I think that’s the way it’s perceived. That’s the way it’s seen by everybody,” Fike said.

For now, Scott is more concerned about those she leaves behind at Fultondale High.

“I’ve cried every time I’ve talked about this with kids, with anyone else,” Scott said. “We’re such a small school that I’ve followed these kids since they were in grade school. There are kids that need to take different classes next semester to graduate, and only I know that right now, because I’ve done the schedules.”

So what now for Scott, who still has a number of years available to work?

She pauses, then says simply, “I don’t know.”

Another pause to wipe a tear, and she continues. “I have considered trying to find another job. I have considered writing a résumé, but I’ve done this for so long that I don’t know where to start to even look for another job. This is all I know. This is all I’ve ever wanted to do. But I can look back on 32 years and tell you that I love what I’ve done, and I’ve been blessed as much through what I have done as the people I have worked for.”

WEDNESDAY: How schools are coping with the sudden loss of experienced personnel.