These retired staff and teachers should be brought in at entry level salary. This is an obvious double dip. There are many universities that have Tech Education programs to recruit from, Iowa State University being one and I am sure that they had a of young grads looking for a job.

Maybe if the teachers who retired didn't feel like scapegoats for everyones woes when they have had NOTHING to do with the economic situation and have for years forgone wage increases to benefit the district in exchange for benefits then school districts across the state wouldn't have found themselves in the situation they are in. When it comes to education and as a parent of 2 young kids I WANT QUALIFIED, EDUCATED teacher in my classrooms. I PAY TAXES to see my roads maintained, trash/recycling collected, city needs maintained and MOST IMPORTANTLY our CHILDREN EDUCATED!!! I am sick of all the whining over this issue already. What good is a balanced budget when all our kids are going to receive a "bargain" basement education with these cuts. It disgusts me.

What makes you think that retirees with a vast amount of experience and expertise would come back at an entry level salary ? Is paying an individual a salary for services rendered double dipping ?I don't think so. Dave Smith

This is done in private business all the time. A key employee retires and the company places him or her under contract as a special consultant. This is transitional and should be treated as such.

@Lyle,

You are correct. The employees are brought back under contract as a special consultants. They generally put in a few hours a month and get paid a fraction of what they were making before they retired, hence the word "retirement."

Bargain basement education? What a joke. Even with the cut backs we are still paying for a BMW and getting a Pinto. More money does not equal better educated students. Never has. MPS pays the most per student of any district in the state and they have the lowest reading, writing and maths scores along with the lowest graduation rate.

The big problem here is the double dip. It is not the same as a key person in the corporate world. There they are not receiving taxpayer subsided salary and health benefits for being retired "AND" receiving their normal salary for working.

This whole article is just a big smoke screen to cover for the crony deals cut between cry baby teachers and the district. Why would the district administration care anyway it is always easier when you are spending someone else's money.

@Jacob: Comparing MPS to Waukesha is comparing Apples to Oranges. The test scores are also a reflection of the parental involvement, socio-economic status and overall health of a child. Such generalization towards education is NOT fair. My kids have EXCELLENT teachers and despite having a son with Autism, he is thriving because I reinforce what he learns at school when he gets home and I ensure he eats healthy and sees a doctor regularly. You seem to like to "bitch" about cronyism and how teachers are not qualified for dignity in the work place because their salary is paid by tax dollars. FYI: they pay taxes too AND slavery was done away with during Lincoln's administration. Why in our current society does an individual who is REQUIRED to get advanced education to maintain a license and is then in turn treated like a second class citizen just because they happen to be a public servant? You want to lay the blame for your woes, go to Wall Street or your local bank and bitch at them!! Leave my kids teachers alone!!! Maybe some more education on your part would be beneficial, or at least a dose of common sense and compassion. In the long run it is our kids and their futures that will suffer due to cuts to education and healthcare in order to pay for Corporate welfare! Let the Corporations make "cuts" in govt subsidy, where is the "outrage" towards that assault on taxpayer $'s?????