Five teachers opt for early retirement incentive

Five teachers in the Somers-Lakeside School District have opted to take the early retirement incentive, which was offered as a way to help with the district's current budget crunch.

The district is facing approximately a $164,000 budget deficit for next year. The retirement incentive was offered as a first attempt to alleviate that shortfall and bring the district back into the black.

To be eligible for the retirement incentive, teachers had to meet the Montana Teachers' Retirement System requirements for early retirement and had until April 28 to submit their application and letter of resignation. The board accepted those resignations Thursday, May 6. The teachers will receive $5,000 deposited into an annuity account annually for five consecutive years. The district has estimated the savings per teacher who takes the incentive could be as much as $140,000 over the course of five years. Additional savings will be determined at future board meetings based on which positions will be refilled.

The following teachers will be retiring at the end of the school year:

Eileen Alexander

Alexander teaches band at both Lakeside Elementary School and Somers Middle School. She's taught general music, choir and band in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana in the course of her career.

Cheryl Bubnash

Bubnash is a Title I reading specialist at the elementary school. She's been in the Somers-Lakeside district since 1980. She's taught kindergarten, first, second, third and fifth grade in the district and now has been in full-time reading support to give individuals and small groups help in reading.

Maureen Louden

Louden teaches art at the middle school. This was her 19th year in Somers. During her tenure, she taught first grade, Title I, math, shop, art and kindergarten. This year she's been back full-time at the middle school.

Mike Uland

Uland is a physical education teacher for kindergarten through fifth grade. Uland has worked in the Somers-Lakeside district for more than 20 years and has been teaching for 28 years. Aside from PE, he's also taught a variety of other subject areas up through eighth grade.

Susan Wallace

Wallace is the district's gifted and talented resource teacher and teaches the middle school's exploratory class of robotics. Prior to that position, she taught seventh and eighth grade science for 26 years. She's taught at elementary, middle and high school grade levels.