The Mid-Praire School District is offering an early retirement option. During the school board meeting on Monday the 13th, early retirement was one of the agenda items that the board covered. According to Mid-Praire Superintendent Brian Stone the early retirement comes down to how many years of service the teacher has, “ Some of that comes down to the rule of 88. It just depends on the years of service they have provided through IPERS, which is how that would work. Once you meet that rule, it doesn`t mean everybody wants to take advantage of that point at that time. What we try to do ultimately through early retirement, is give us a head start on potentially filling in the position that is now vacant. In today’s age, in the educational world it becomes more and more challenging to fill those positions. If someone has made that decision, the sooner we can get the process started and the better quality candidate we can get it for our students”.

According to Stone, it’s not easy to find a replacement for a teacher who has been at the school for years. The board unanimously approved an early resignation incentive of $2,000 for February, and a $1,000 incentive for March, to be paid during the June 2025 pay period.