Sophia Simcox, 5, practices her balance as she leaves an open house at Bristol Elementary School on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2023. Sophia’s mother brought her to school during an open house that was designed to give families an opportunity to tour schools in the Webster Groves School District.
WEBSTER GROVES — Veteran staff members who retire early from the Webster Groves School District this year can receive buyouts to help address declining revenues.
Staff members who take the buyout offer of 20% of their salary must be eligible for retirement, which generally means working a minimum of 25 years in the public school system. The Webster Groves Board of Education unanimously approved at its meeting Thursday.
Webster Groves anticipates an $800,000 drop in state funding this year due to falling enrollment. The district also eliminated six full-time positions to offset the revenue decline, according to the 2024-25 budget.
The board discussed a staff buyout plan in February before administrators realized it was too late in the school year to start the process. At the time, district leaders said an estimated 55 staff members were eligible for the buyouts and could potentially be replaced with new hires at lower salaries.
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Enrollment in Webster Groves’ eight schools last year was 4,172 students, down from 4,500 five years ago. School revenue is tied to attendance, which is expected to continue its downward trend nationwide primarily because of declining birth rates. The windfall of federal pandemic relief funds for school districts also dries up this year.
Last year, there were 725 employees in the district including 315 certified teachers. Webster Groves’ maximum salary of nearly $104,099 for the most experienced and educated teachers ranked eighth out of about 550 school districts in the state, according to the Missouri National Education Association.
About 15 teachers took advantage in 2016 when buyouts were last offered in Webster Groves for a savings of more than $400,000, district leaders said. The Kirkwood School District has an ongoing early retirement plan for cost savings that 18 employees accepted in 2022-23.
Since the fall of 2019, public schools have lost 5,500 students in ×îÐÂÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ County and nearly 3,000 in ×îÐÂÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ city. Statewide, public school enrollment has fallen by 20,000 students, or 2%, in the past four years to about 860,000, according to the Missouri education department.
Enrollment figures for 2024-25 will be released later this fall.
First-graders in Ms. Lawson's class in Webster Groves talked about various restaurants they enjoy going to and why. Video by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
