GBDA, Employment of Retired Personnel

The Superintendent, or principal, with the approval of the Superintendent, may employ retired employees under certain conditions; however, an employee whose retirement has been accepted shall not be guaranteed any position/employment with the St. Martin Parish School Board.

Certified personnel who are members of the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) who have retired and are rehired shall be designated as either a retired teacher or retired member, as provided below:

A position for a full-time or part-time classroom teacher who teaches any student in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in a school where a critical shortage exists.
A position for a full-time certified speech therapist, speech pathologist, audiologist, educational diagnostician, school social worker, school counselor, school psychologist, interpreter, educational transliterator, or educator of the deaf or hard of hearing, whose position of employment requires a valid Louisiana ancillary certificate approved and issued by the Louisiana Department of Education where a critical shortage exists.

A position for a substitute classroom teacher who teaches any student in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.
A position assigned to the professional activities of instructing adults through an adult education or literacy program administered through a public institution of elementary or secondary education, provided the retiree has a valid Louisiana teaching certificate.
A position for a school nurse.
A position for a presenter or professional development training.
A position for a tutor for any student in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.
A position for a classroom teacher employed in a temporary capacity to proctor tests.

A member of the TRSL who was retired on or before June 30, 2010.
A retiree who holds an advanced degree in speech therapy, speech pathology, or audiology.

Critical shortage shall mean a situation in which the School Board has advertised and posted notice of positions to be filled and has received fewer than three (3) certified applicants. Certification that a critical shortage exists shall be presented to the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) and the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana, in order for a retiree who is employed in a critical shortage area to be eligible to receive retirement benefits.

Prior to making such certification of a critical shortage for any full-time critical shortage position, the School Board shall be required to advertise in the School Board’s official journal, on two (2) separate occasions, notice that a shortage of certified teachers exists and the positions to be filled. Additionally, the School Board shall cause notice of the shortage of certified teachers to be posted at the career development or similar office of every post-secondary institution within a 120 mile radius of the School Board. If a certified applicant who is not a retiree applies for an advertised position, such person shall be hired before any certified retiree is employed, unless fewer than three (3) applicants have applied for the position, each of whom is certified in the critical shortage area being filled.

Classroom teacher shall mean any employee whose position of employment requires a valid Louisiana teaching certificate and who is assigned professional activities of instructing pupils in courses in classroom situations for which daily pupil attendance figures are kept, or is assigned to proctor admission, evaluation, or assessment testing; however, such proctoring shall not be considered a subject area for a critical shortage. Such classroom situations may include testing in school classrooms or other settings such as homes or hospitals or other learning situations including co-curricular activities. Instruction may be provided in person or through an approved medium such as television, radio, computer, Internet, multimedia telephone, or correspondence and may be delivered inside or outside the classroom or in other teacher-student settings.

Substitute classroom teacher shall mean a classroom teacher employed in a temporary capacity to fill the position of another classroom teacher who is unavailable to teach or to proctor for any reason.

The salary of any retired teacher who is reemployed shall be based on the salary schedule which accounts for all prior years of teaching service and pertinent experience. The earnings of a retired teacher returning to active service may result in a reduction in retirement benefits received, in accordance with statutory provisions.

A retired member not considered a retired teacher, who returns to active service with the School Board, shall have his/her retirement benefits suspended for the duration of reemployment, even if such employment is based on a contract, and shall make no contributions to the TRSL and shall receive no additional service credit nor accrue any additional retirement benefits.

Whenever a retiree returns to active service, the School Board shall, within thirty (30) days thereafter, notify the TRSL in writing of such employment, the date of reemployment, and a determination as to whether the person is a retired teacher. Other reports shall be submitted as required by state law.

A bus operator who has retired from service may be employed and return to service as a full-time bus operator. If a retired bus operator is reemployed, the Superintendent shall certify to the BESE that a shortage of qualified bus operators exists in the school district.

Whenever a retired bus operator is reemployed, the School Board shall notify the Louisiana School Employees Retirement System (LSERS) in writing within ten (10) days of such employment and the date employment began. In addition, the School Board shall submit to LSERS before September 1 of each school year of reemployment of a bus operator a declaration stating the School Board’s intent to reemploy the bus operator. The declaration shall be signed by the Superintendent or his/her designee and the employee. If such declaration is not received by September 1, the reemployed bus operator shall be subject to retirement benefits and other conditions in accordance with La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §11:1006. Upon the bus operator’s termination, the School Board shall provide LSERS in writing information and notice of the termination.

The School Board shall be required to report to LSERS within forty-five (45) days after June 30th of each year the names of all retired bus operators being paid by the School Board, their social security numbers, and the amounts of their earnings during the previous year.

If a retired bus operator is reemployed, the School Board shall pay to LSERS the actuarial cost for the bus operator that is in excess of the cost that would have been incurred if the School Board had reemployed the bus operator pursuant to the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §11:1006.

Any retired non-certified employee, other than a bus operator, may be reemployed as a full-time, part-time, temporary, or substitute employee. The School Board shall be required to transmit monthly, by the fifteenth (15th) day after the end of the month, a report to the Louisiana School Employees Retirement System (LSERS) with the name, social security number, and the amount of earnings of the retiree during the previous month.

Revised: October 6, 2010	Revised: December 5, 2012
Revised: April 6, 2011	Revised: January 6, 2016
Revised: October 5, 2011	Revised: February 6, 2019