This much we know: State legislators faced a huge budget shortfall in the most recent regular session, and they were required to balance the books. Massive cuts had to be made, and they were.

But in the hurry to get the bill done and passed, it looks like The Lege didn’t think things through.

The bill which made thousands of public employees decide whether or not to retire by the end of the year may have succeeded in its intended purpose, which was to get those employees to contribute more to their health insurance and retirement plans. Heavy-hitting political operatives did a good job of getting public-employee constituents a good deal when the Democrats ruled Montgomery. But with the GOP in control, there was much fat to be trimmed, and public employees took a hit. The bill gave longtime employees two choices: Retire now, or take a big hit financially.

For most government agencies, a Dec. 1 departure date isn’t a big deal. But for schools it is, as teachers and administrators are forced to exit in the middle of a semester. That’s very disruptive for schools and students.

Legislators apparently didn’t realize the problem until the bill was passed. Don’t worry, we’ll fix it in the sewer-debt special session, they were told — except that didn’t happen.

It’s one thing to make the tough choices to cut costs, as they did. But in their haste they didn’t consider everything. And there’s no excuse for that.

Sometimes the small details aren’t all that small after all.