Alabama’s pace of teacher retirements has slowed statewide, according to numbers compiled from the 2022-23 school year.

According to the Teachers Retirement System, 2,810 public education employees retired at some point during the 2022-23 school year, down from 3,337 the year before. A decade-old record was broken during the 2020-21 school year when 3,515 employees left local school systems.

The 2023 retirement rate is the lowest number since 2013, when 2,590 employees retired. TRS does not break out retirements by various types of employees, so numbers include all public education employees, not only teachers.

A slowed pace of departures is good news for the state. A dozen districts saw retirements at the lowest number in a decade. Most of those, though, had high retirement numbers during the 2020-21 or 2021-22 years.

Education officials and lawmakers have increased pay and added bonuses for some subject areas in recent years to convince teachers to stick around. Those changes seem to be working for some.

Alabama’s minimum starting salary for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree is $43,358, but many local districts pay higher salaries and offer additional benefits for other qualifications.

In 10 Alabama school districts – mostly in rural areas – employees are retiring in the highest numbers in the last decade.

Here’s a look at the total number of public education employee retirements over the last ten years. Click here if you are unable to see the chart.

And here’s a look at retirements over the past five years reported by each school district. Click here if you are unable to see the table.