The Naperville District 203 School Board is offering eligible teachers a one-time retirement incentive if they announce their intention to leave at the end of this school year.
A memorandum of agreement between the district and its teachers union, Naperville Unit Education Association, approved by the board with a 5-1 vote Tuesday, is a means through which the district can begin to close a projected $12.4 million budget deficit.
As part of the agreement, eligible employees can agree to an irrevocable intent to retire this year by March 6 and receive full retirement benefits with the Teachers’ Retirement System. Employees who previously informed the district of their intention to retire at the end of the 2026-27 school year or later are also allowed to update their terms so they may retire this year.
Typically, eligible certified staff must give four years’ notice before retirement to receive full health insurance and dental premiums from the Teachers’ Retirement System, district spokesman LeeAnn Betz said.
When teachers provide less than four years’ notice, they receive fewer benefits. Under the one-time retirement incentive approved this week, teachers can retire at the end of the school year and receive full benefits regardless of how much notice they provide, Betz said.
Board member Melissa Kelley Black, who voted against the proposal, said she believed the action was being taken too quickly and without getting adequate feedback from board members and the community.
“That deficit didn’t happen overnight,” she said, adding that she only learned recently that streamlining jobs was one tool to address the deficit.
The school board earlier this month confirmed they wanted district administration to come as close as possible to submitting a balanced budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year that addresses the projected $12.4 million hole.
A five-year financial forecast indicates there could be years of deficits ahead and if not addressed now, the situation will only get worse and shortfalls covered by using money drawn from the district’s surplus fund balance, officials said.
While the administration hopes to lobby legislators in Springfield for more financial support, noting that some state mandates aren’t fully funded, that will not address the entire problem and cuts will still need to be made.
Among those proposed earlier this month are reductions in discretionary spending, elimination or reduction of nonessential expenses, cuts in nonessential travel, consolidation of duplicative resources, decreases in department spending and staff streamlining to align with current enrollment needs.
In a video message to staff and families, Superintendent Dan Bridges said streamlining staff levels is the most difficult to address.
Property tax revenue is the district’s main revenue source and is tied to the Consumer Price Index, Bridges said. Costs continue to rise faster than revenues, especially in salaries and benefits, which make up most of the district’s expenses, he said.
“Since 80% of our budget is people, we cannot solve this deficit without looking at staffing levels,” Bridges said in his address.
The district would like to handle as much reduction as possible through attrition and natural resignations and retirements, he said.
Staff projections will be presented to the school board at its March meetings and the district will continue to update the community on its budget before it is adopted in June.
Bridges said the district’s enrollment has gone down, but staffing levels have grown.
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Since 2013, enrollment has decreased by 875 students, but certified staff increased by more than 185 people, Betz said. The district prioritized hiring additional staff to help students adjust to COVID-19 pandemic learning and prevent learning loss, she said.
“During the pandemic, we used temporary federal funding to add staff, ensuring our students had the academic and social-emotional support necessary for a full recovery,” she said in an email.
“We always knew these funds were short term, but we deliberately kept those higher staffing levels until we were sure our students had regained their footing. Now that we have moved past that recovery phase and those temporary funds have ended, we are realigning our resources to match our current student population where appropriate.”
The district does not have a final count on how many positions may be cut. It’s working in close collaboration with its labor unions throughout the process, Betz said.
The Naperville Unit Education Association declined comment at this time.
According to district projections, the fiscal year 2027-28 budget deficit is forecast to be about $14.8 million and fiscal year 2028-29 is likely to have an $18.5 million funding gap between revenue and expenditures.
Those projections indicate the district would deplete its reserves by fiscal year 2030.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.