Only 12 school system employees throughout Covington County will retire Dec. 1 because of changes in the state insurance program – a much different picture than originally thought by school officials.

At the first of October, it was believed that as many as 55 teachers and support personnel in Covington County could retire early, and in the middle of this school year, due to a new state law that increases retiree medical insurance premiums beginning Jan. 1.

Monday was the deadline to file the necessary paperwork if the employee planned to retire. Statewide, some 10,000 teachers and support personnel in K-12 and the two-year college system could choose to retire in Dec.1, in order to avoid the high medical costs.

The new law creates a sliding scale for education retiree insurance premiums based on how long the employee has been in the retirement system and the number of years away from Medicare eligibility, which is usually age 65.

In Andalusia, Superintendent Ted Watson said one employee – a support personnel member – has elected to retire. As many as 20 employees had 25 or more years experience in the system and could have retired, he said previously.

“it could have been catastrophic for us, but we’re pleased that the staff has chosen to stay on board,” Watson said. “We were worried we were going to have to beat the bushes for employees in the middle of the school year. I’m glad that’s not the case and that our students aren’t going to be affected.”

Opp Superintendent Michael Smithart said at the beginning of October that two support personnel had already submitted retirement paperwork. On Tuesday, he said that number grew by two.

“But, it was two teachers who decided to retire, which brought our total up to four system-wide,” he said.

Like Andalusia, an estimated 20-25 employees in the Covington County School System were eligible to retire. Of those, seven elected to take that option, Superintendent Terry Holley said.