Double dipping is one of those things that drive non-government employees crazy. Already given a crème de la crème pension – the kind of pension the private sector can only dream about – it is especially difficult for taxpayers to understand how a government worker can retire, begin collecting their full pension, and then immediately get contracted to do the same job they just retired from.

This is an especially hot topic in places like the Okanagan, where a number of schools are being closed to save money.

The Penticton Herald reports today that Okanagan Skaha School District “assistant superintendent Dave Burgoyne and Skaha Lake Middle School principal Dave Brunelle both recently retired for a one-month period required to draw their pensions, then went straight back to their old jobs.”

The pair claim their transition will save taxpayers money, but that’s hard for most people to swallow given they’re being paid more to do the same job.

I think former trustee David Perry hits the nail on the head:

He said in an email the practice of hiring back retired employees remains “patently unfair when at the same time you are closing schools because of high costs.”

“Either you are retired or you are not. If you are, then you should not be allowed back in the same job. Schools closed, staff laid off, but the board office refuses to absorb its fair share of the costs of declining enrollment.”

Perry suggested the district could avoid the problem in part by ensuring administrators’ contracts expire at the end of school years.

It does seem ludicrous that administrators’ contracts wouldn’t cover entire school years.