Lehighton Area School District’s board of directors approved an early retirement incentive plan Monday night for eligible professional employees. Director David Bradley voted against the agreement, arguing the district would be paying its most experienced staff to leave without fully knowing what that would cost.

“The employee retirement incentive is driven toward some of our most senior employees,” Bradley said. “Why would we ever want to take our most experienced people out of our school district and pay them to leave?”

Under the memorandum of understanding, eligible employees must be at least 55 years old and have accumulated a minimum of 20 years of credited service with the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System. The district’s superintendent said roughly 20 employees meet those criteria.

Qualifying employees may choose between two incentive options: $8,000 deposited annually for three years into a 403(b) tax-sheltered retirement account, totaling $24,000, or a one-time lump-sum deposit of $20,000 into such an account. The plan includes two election windows — the first running May 19 through June 20, and a second closing Nov. 1. Under the agreement, at least four employees must participate in each window for any benefits in that window to be paid out.

Before the vote, Bradley pressed administrators for a firm dollar figure on what the plan would cost the district.

“How much is this going to cost the district? Does anybody have a number?” he said.

Superintendent Jason Moser said a precise total was impossible to calculate in advance.

Administrators maintained the plan would save the district money in nearly every scenario while also recognizing employees who had dedicated careers to the district.

“This is a cost-saving strategy done in a way to actually provide a level of honor to the people who have committed to the district,” Moser said. “There is nothing forced about this. Nobody is being persuaded. It was requested by the negotiation committee.”

Bradley remained unconvinced.

“I think the board should actually know what they’re financially committing to prior to doing it,” he said. “It shouldn’t be a blind ‘let’s make a deal.’ We’re the government. We have every right to see everything prior to making a decision.”

He moved to table the vote until cost data was in hand, but the motion failed to get a second.

Bradley also questioned the human cost to the district’s instructional quality.

“We can right-size our staffing, but to offer an incentive for some of our best employees to leave would be counterproductive to the people that we serve,” he said, adding that he was particularly concerned about tenured teachers being among those who might accept the offer.

Board President Alex Matika sided with those who voted in favor.

“Regardless of not knowing the numbers, this will have a decrease in expenditures,” Matika said. “It’s a way to reward our educators who’ve left everything in the classroom and are ready to move on.”