DPS pension plan not dependent on closures
Letter writer Kathy Hansen is right — we do need to “Keep the heat on Denver Public Schools” (June 12). Yes, DPS needs to make real revelations and reform, but not at the expense of the pension plan.
Hansen has the facts wrong. Schools do not have to be closed to maintain the pension plan. The pension plan, which serves all employees, is separately managed by a professional, and it has professional investment counselors (read the annual report).
DPS makes contributions per employee just like other corporations. All employees can buy “years of service” if certain criteria are met and they pay into those years.
As for releasing personnel information, there are laws preventing this. For the rest, read the DPS annual report. Keep the heat on, but get the facts straight.
Pat Lemster, Denver
wow can I buy years to get more tax payer money when I retire? PERA is great if you receive it and it really sucks when you have to fund it and never get a nickel out of it.
the pro running it has let the ball drop but dont worry it will be totally funded by taxpayers so say the government. look it up
DPS has a separate pension fund. Teachers in DPS do not get their pension money from PERA.
Teachers have historically taken less of a current salary partly in exchange for better pension benefits after retirement.
if 6/28/07 03:52am doesn't like the compensation package as it is, then he needs to be willing to pay more salary to teachers up front.
Posted by Marie on June 28, 2007 07:01 AM6/28/07 is a rare bird indeed. If (s)he "never got a nickel" out of public pension plans, (s)he receives no police protection, never goes outside to drive on a road or walk on a sidewalk, let alone go to a park. There is no running water or sewer in the house in which 6/28 lives, poor soul. God forbid illness or injury should strike as there is no way for 6/28 to access medical care, as ambulances are out of the question, let alone the roads. Even if the roads were available, they would never be plowed in winter or repaired. Colorado would be a very backward place were it not for public employees and the services they provide. 6/28 must have gotten someone else to write that post, since education would not be available, either.
Posted by skeptic on June 28, 2007 08:13 AMPat, I'm sorry to say that the information cited came directly from the A+ report.
If you have been following recent reports on this issue, you will also have read that the District, since 2003, has been REFUSING to give the pension plan the amount it needs to fund the benefits.
If the plan has a shortfall, the pension guaranty fund won't pay it off as if it were a private plan.
My husband worked over 23 years for this entity, and there isn't much we didn't explore about its operations after he left.
Your letter explains exactly why there needs to be MUCH more public exploration and reporting on this vital public service. I thank you and everyone else who has taken the time to comment and care about these issues. Kathy Hansen