Teachers’ pension problem festers

MIDDLEBURY — While state revenues this year have been exceeding expectations, it’s not all good financial news in Montpelier. Before the end of the 2021-2022 biennium, Vermont lawmakers will need to chart a new course for a teachers’ retirement system that’s in dire financial straights. That is due to the underperformance of investments, a shrinking population of teachers, the setting of unrealistic rates of financial return and other factors. As a result, educators are nervous about their pensions and taxp … (read more)

I am the driver education instructor at Middlebury Union High School. My job is to keep kids alive. A large part of my role is to serve as an extra set of eyes and ears as they learn to drive. When they come into my classroom — and into the DE car — they … (read more)

This situation with the state teachers’ and state workers’ pension fund is incredibly incompetent and unjust. Certainly, the burden for fixing it should not fall on the teachers and state workers. Just to propose such a solution is tone deaf at least, and … (read more)

Angelo, the proposal to change state employee and Vermont teacher pensions that is being considered by the Legislature is a major issue in Vermont today. Teachers have used a strategy of letter writing (published in this newspaper), holding a Zoom meeting … (read more)

The Legislature has before it — at long last — a proposal to address the solvency of the state’s pension system. There is nothing in the proposal for anyone to like. It’s full of pain and regret and expense. It’s the embodiment of what happens when a prob … (read more)

The deficit in the state’s pension fund is worrisome and demands redress, but State Treasurer Beth Pearce’s solution is unfair. In brief, the state of Vermont is facing a crisis in its pension system. For over a decade, Vermont has allowed a gap to grow b … (read more)

I love my job. I get to go to work every day and interact with my students at Middlebury Union Middle School, where I’ve taught for 16 years. It is a busy job, one with challenges and messes and the occasional beautiful, perfect moment. Each day, there is … (read more)

Think about a favorite teacher that you had in elementary, middle or high school. Was there something they did that really had an impact on your life, or inspired you? Most of us have at least one person that comes to mind from our past. It could have bee … (read more)

I believe that education is the foundation to building a democratic society. Education that involves not just math, reading and writing skills, but education to think critically about systems and structures that construct society. I believe well-educated, … (read more)

I am writing today because of the proposed changes to the Vermont State Teachers’ Retirement System. As a native Vermonter, I have been an educator since 1995, teaching a variety of subjects and students in the Vergennes, Burlington, and Middlebury school … (read more)

I am a teacher at Middlebury Union Middle School (MUMS), where I have been teaching math since 1997. I am writing on behalf of the teachers of the Addison County School District (ACSD). My intention is to raise awareness on an issue that is causing great … (read more)

As a veteran teacher with a decent awareness of what is going on regarding the State of Vermont’s push to shift the burden of retirement system fixes onto educators, it has been interesting to see media coverage of recent proposed changes to Vermont teach … (read more)

I am writing today because I oppose the recent recommendations State Treasurer Beth Pearce has made to alter the Teachers’ Retirement System. I am a sixth-generation Vermonter and a first-generation college graduate. Currently, I am in my 18th year as a t … (read more)