Peabody will reimburse its teachers for tuition costs

PEABODY-Peabody Schools will soon join the ranks of area communities that offer an incentive plan to help keep new teachers working in their district.School Committee member Dave McGeney raised the idea of offering a tuition incentive program for new teachers willing to further their education. He hopes that by doing so, Peabody would be able to increase the city?s teacher retention.?There are a number of communities who offer tuition reimbursement,” he said. “We have not.”McGeney said that retaining good teachers is a real priority to the Committee. He said that there?s a particular deficiency in the five to 10 year time frame.?We do a fairly good job attracting young teachers out of college, but a lot of times they get four to five years of experience, and just when they?re about to get really skilled at what they do, they move to other communities for a number of reasons,” said McGeney, adding he believes that tuition reimbursement could very well be one of those reasons.McGeney made a motion to use $10,000 from the Professional Development account to reimburse the tuition of teachers during the current fiscal school year. Although he admits that $10,000 is certainly not enough, it is a step in the right direction, he said.?It?s just a token amount,” said McGeney. “The significance is that we?re planting the seed and hope to be able to build upon it?We?ll certainly be looking to increase that amount in next year?s budget.”Fellow Committee member Ed Nizwantowski backed McGeney?s motion.?Most (teachers) teach because they have great hearts?They?re not going to get rich,” said Nizwantowski. “I?m all for anything we can do to retain our teachers.”The motion carried unanimously and Superintendent Milton Burnett is now in the process of developing a plan on how to properly disperse the funds. Once a plan is drafted, it will be brought before the Committee for discussion and a vote.?There?s still a lot of work to be done,” said McGeney, noting the tight time frame with only a few months left to the year.McGeney attributes the low retention rate in Peabody, as well as in other communities, to the early retirement bill passed in 2002 that pushed many seasoned teachers into retirement.?Now, more than ever, it?s important to retain our teachers.”