It has long been policy of Park County School District 1 to offer incentives to certified staff who let the district know early in the year that they’re leaving. That made it easier to search for replacement teachers. 

Making a decision by Feb. 1 was rewarded with $1,000 while resignation notifications by March 1 or April 1 were met with incentives of $750 and $500, respectively.

This year, the offer has been extended to classified or support staff who let the district know of their imminent departure. There are some 15 staffers who would qualify for the incentive of $500 for a decision on or before Feb. 28. The resignations would become effective at the end of the school year. 

At the school board’s Feb. 9 meeting, trustees asked how much such an incentive could cost the district at a time when it is trying to cut costs. But Superintendent Jay Curtis said even if every staff member who was qualified to get the incentive resigned, it would pay for itself when the budget was being hammered out.

“I see it to our benefit to leverage any money we have for next year,” Curtis said. 

Trustee Greg Borcher said he saw how that would work, adding, “Even if we spend $2,000 to $3,000 now, we could be saving $20,000 to 30,000 next year.”

The trustees are looking at having at least $1 million less to work with than in the 2020-21 budget year. Curtis has expressed his hopes that the shortfall can be met through resignations and retirements rather than a reduction in force, where employees would be laid off.