At a time when schools nationwide rely on elderly volunteers for help with everything from reading lessons to lunchroom duty, educators in Buffalo Grove are considering an unusual program to lure senior citizens into their buildings by giving them–in effect–tax breaks.
Under the proposal, adults 55 and older would be paid the minimum wage, $5.15 per hour, to work in local elementary and middle schools. They would be allowed to earn up to the portion of their annual property tax bill that goes to the schools.
The program has been suggested by administrators in Kildeer Elementary School District 96. The district’s school board is expected to vote on the plan in May.
The intergenerational project is modeled after a similar one in Community Consolidated School District 15 in Palatine, which was started in 1992 and now includes 75 elderly employees.
Margaret Karsten, 81, who earns the minimum wage at Winston Campus Elementary School in Palatine, said the money, while appreciated, is of secondary importance.
“The warmth from the teachers and children–there is no other type of compensation that even comes close,” said Karsten, who tutors 4th graders one day a week.
Kildeer educators said their proposal would bridge gaps between children and older adults, especially during an age when many young people live far from their grandparents. They also said the program would offer students resources–namely, experienced men and women–who otherwise might not be used.
Officials envision attracting seniors from various backgrounds–former teachers, military veterans, business executives, immigrants who could communicate with students in a foreign language.
“There are many people who have retired from the world of work and have a tremendous amount to offer,” District 96 Supt. Thomas Many said.
While volunteering in schools is growing across the country, attempts to attract senior citizens by helping them financially also appear to be increasing. In Minnesota, for example, a statewide intergenerational council plans to present a bill to the state legislature next year allowing senior citizens to avoid property-tax increases by working in the schools.
Most elderly workers in schools are not paid. In Illinois, a state Department of Aging program has matched 6,000 senior volunteers with 18,000 children, emphasizing a one-to-one relationship. The program, called Illinois READS (Retirees Educating and Assisting in the Development of Students), was started in 1992.
In Buffalo Grove, however, Kildeer officials said their proposal was prompted, in part, by the difficulty in attracting senior volunteers. Traditional measures, they said, such as appeals in newsletters and other publications, have not been as successful as administrators would like.
“We’ve had seniors come in and volunteer on a short-term basis and we’ve had some volunteer long-term,” said John Mason, principal of Ivy Hall Middle School, who has advocated the new program. “What I’m looking for is a more consistent kind of commitment.”
Though details of the Kildeer plan have not been worked out, District 96 officials said they would recommend limiting the program to 10 seniors who would earn no more than a combined $20,000 during the first year.
In District 96, a homeowner whose house has a fair market value of $200,000 pays about $1,900 in property taxes to Kildeer schools annually, officials said.
The idea of bringing elderly residents into local schools stemmed from a District 96 conference for educators and community leaders last spring. Officials said they would like senior citizens to perform such tasks as reading with children, helping with writing and editing, playing games, serving as lunch buddies, and simply talking and listening.
School officials have begun discussing the proposal with seniors and others in the community. Terri Ebner, coordinator for the Buffalo Grove Park District Seniors, which has more than 300 paying members, called the plan “a wonderful idea.”
“The compensation is probably secondary,” Ebner said. “It’s a very good incentive, but I don’t think that would be the main reason people would do it.”
Lu Auer, president of the Kildeer Education Association, the district’s teachers union, said the group has not yet taken a position on the proposal.
“We have a lot of questions,” said Auer, a kindergarten teacher at Willow Grove School. “I have heard some concerns, wondering if aides would be replaced by the senior citizens and what happens if people earn their tax bills by midyear.”
Some observers said they believe most interested senior citizens who would offer to work in schools would not be motivated by the minimum wage. But they praised the philosophy behind the Kildeer idea.
“Any formal programs that get older people and younger people working together in a cooperative and mutually beneficial way are excellent,” said Maureen Statland, chairman of the Chicago Metropolitan Intergenerational Committee.
The two generations often have little contact with each other and resort to stereotypes, she said.
