There’s really nothing quite like running into a teacher that you’ve had from many years ago that still remembers your name and asks what you’ve been up to all these years.
It’s easy for a previous student to assume that their favorite retired teachers are enjoying the fruits of their labor, spending time with family and taking advantage of sleeping in late: a luxury we all strive for.
But for most retired teachers, that certainly isn’t the case.
From putting in many hours of volunteering for local organizations to fighting for the rights of teachers, currently working or retired, the lives of these cherished educators are much busier than anyone would think.
Once a month, the retired teachers of Pampa gather at the Pampa Senior Citizens Center for a meeting, discussing legislative issues that effect Texas teachers and retired teachers, logging in volunteer hours and even going on field trips around the Panhandle, fulfilling their love for knowledge and learning new things.
There are some that even serve as substitute teachers when the need arises, putting them right back where their hearts never left.
The local chapter is comprised of 76 members, the majority of them residing in Gray County.
Most of the focus and mission of the Texas Retired Teachers Association is to keep an eye on the issues that are happening at the state level, according to Kathy Cavalier, Vice President of the Pampa Chapter.
The testimonies of these retired teachers of the unfair treatment that they have faced over the decades would infuriate even the coldest of hearts.
“There’s several reasons for the local chapter because we’re a part of the state organization and it helps us to know what’s going on at the state level. Especially with this past year, we’ve been heavily involved in getting a cost-of-living adjustment in our retirement benefit because there hasn’t been one since 1984,” Cavalier said.
Gaylene Skaggs, a retired Pampa High School teacher, served on both the local and state level and has personally witnessed the neglect that retired teachers face after spending decades shaping the future of our youth.
“I think this is a great organization to keep up to date on what’s happening with the legislation and that’s why I got involved. I got to really see the nitty-gritty of it all,” Skaggs said.
“It’s not just teachers; it’s all retired school personnel who were under the umbrella of the retired teacher system,” said Cay Warner, retired Assistant Principal for Pampa High School who also served on the school board years after retirement.
“A long time ago when we started teaching, the idea was that teachers would not get social security. They would only have teacher retirement and so for most of us, that is the case. Even if you worked other jobs or did anything else, you were not eligible for anything other than your teacher retirement. And it’s still true today.”
“So retired school personnel had to hold hands together for people to recognize this, especially legislators. Because for a very long time, there had been no cost-of-living adjustment and teachers don’t make very much to begin with. So if you were resigned to living only on your retirement, that was a meager thing. And so we’re doing a little bit better by holding hands in the state working together.”
“We never had a choice on whether we wanted to go into the social security system or not. The choice was made for us. We never made the decision ourselves and a lot of people don’t know that,” said another retired teacher who wished to remain anonymous.
“When I transferred from Lefors to Pampa, that was the first year that you had to pay into social security and then you could have Medicare after you taught 10 more years. And I thought, I’ll never teach another 10 more years! I didn’t have a choice, I had to. The insurance for teachers is really rough on them,” said another.
When these lovely ladies aren’t out fighting for their rights, they’re making a difference right here at home with community outreach and tons of volunteer hours.
“We’re involved legislatively with those kinds of things, but locally it’s the manpower of volunteer hours. Almost everyone is involved from Meals on Wheels, the Good Samaritan House, Gray Cares, all of those service organizations and the people that take on the legwork are retired teachers.”
With nearly 18,000 volunteer hours last year among the members, the title of “retired” doesn’t seem to fit! But it’s not always just about work; there’s also time for learning experiences, fun field trips and strengthening their bonds through encouragement and engagement.
“When we have our monthly meetings, we have a program of some kind that is informative and we try to take advantage of learning about new businesses and see what’s going on and educate ourselves as to what they’re about,” Cavalier said.
“We are focused on contributing back to our community and advocating for not just retired teachers, but also retired personnel with the legislation that is going through at the state level to give cost-of-living increases or federal benefits of some sort,” Susan Bromlow, retired teacher from Pampa High School and Pampa Learning Center, said.
“But it’s also just encouraging each other to stay healthy and to stay active by getting out and meeting new people and just giving back.”
