Retired Oakton teachers have much to offer

Oakton Community College in Des Plaines has just announced that it will not rehire retired teachers who have come back to teach one or two courses a term. This came about as a result of a fine levied on Oakton by the state when three (out of 80) instructors exceeded the number of hours permitted under the new state pension laws.

Oakton has pleaded that it is being responsible for taxpayers' money by not allowing this to recur. However, if Oakton had simply devised a method of keeping track of its employees' hours, this would not have occurred in the first place. Instead, Oakton has relied on individual faculty members to keep track of their own hours.

What if a teacher also works at another school that is part of the state pension system? Surely that would be unreasonably hard to keep track of. Then rehire only teachers who have retired from Oakton itself - true of the majority of those teachers affected.

Oakton is in the business of educating, not depriving students of the decades of experience and knowledge these teachers have. These teachers have sound reputations in their departments and are sought-after teachers. The students deserve a chance to study with them.

Linda Berendsen

Skokie