Creston hosts retired teacher conference

The details probably differ from person to person, but the common bond is the same.

Creston hosted the Iowa Retired School Personnel Association annual meeting and conference Wednesday and Thursday at the Supertel Inn and Conference Center.

Deb Lilly, who taught special education at Southwest Valley, was one of the organizers of the event.

“We are advocates for those on IPERS (Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System),” Lilly said during the beginning of the conference on Wednesday. “That’s the mission for the organization.” IPERS involves public school teachers’ retirement plans. The group also looks out for AMBA (Association Member Benefits Advisors) which are benefits, like dental, vision and other needs, after retirement.

But it’s not just about monitoring finances.

“There are friends here,” Lilly said. “I think we all enjoy the camaraderie as we all have similar backgrounds.” Lilly said the organization is not just for teachers as it’s for “all public school employees” or those who are in the IPERS program.

Iowa is divided among 15 chapters. Creston Area Retired School Personnel Association is the name of the chapter that meets in Creston. The Creston group is not just for those who have worked with Creston schools. Lilly said members from neighboring counties, or even farther, have attended meetings.

“We do have an active group,” said Diane Burgmaier, whose career included Orient-Macksburg.

“Diane really pitched in to get this,” Lilly said about helping plan the event. Registration lists included people new to the event. Lilly said the Creston group is expected to host a district meeting in May.

The meetings during the year include a variety of educational programs. The annual state convention is held in a different place as Creston members were informed hosting this year’s convention a year ago.

Lilly said up to 60 were expected to attend. Thursday morning’s guest speaker was Dr. Jill Tussey, a 2001 Creston graduate. She began teaching for Buena Vista University in 2012 as an adjunct instructor and moved into a full-time literacy faculty member position in 2017. In 2019, she transitioned to the role as the Division Chair of Literacy, Early Childhood, and TESL. Throughout her teaching career, she also has over a decade of teaching in the elementary setting. Tussey has presented at local, state, national, and international conferences over a variety of literacy topics.

Buena Vista, in Storm Lake, has agreements with Southwestern Community College for Southwestern students interested in pursing a degree from Buena Vista.

Public school teachers, including Iowa, is facing a shortage and the organization is well aware and its consequences.

Lilly said it’s common for the group to support those who want to get into teaching, but it’s not necessarily an emphasis.

“All of us who are here are in that 20 to 30 year range,” she explained about common number of years people put into a teaching career. Members said they know of stories of people who tried teaching, but gave it up just after a few years for various reasons.

“There are lots of people who have contributed (to IPIERS) and they have done for years and years,” Lilly said. But fewer teachers can mean smaller contributions to IPERS.

According to the Business Record in Des Moines, at the end of the 2023 fiscal year, IPERS Trust Fund totaled $41.13 billion, a $1 billion increase from a year ago. “IPERS overcame several market challenges in fiscal year 2023, including interest rate hikes, debt ceiling concerns and uncertainty in some aspects of the private markets sector to achieve a positive return,” IPERS CEO Greg Samorajski included in a Sept. 29 statement. Fiscal year 2023 ended June 30.

“I just taught,” Lilly said. “I didn’t think about benefits until we were done (teaching).”