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A retirement delayed
By ROBERT KING, Times Staff Writer BROOKSVILLE -- Retirement for Powell Middle School principal Cy Wingrove must wait an extra year. Wingrove, who turns 67 next week, entered a deferred retirement program a few years back that locked him into calling it a career within five years. Sometime after that, Wingrove got it into his head that the date when he had to retire was June 30, 2002. A few months ago he reminded the superintendent he'd be retiring this summer. He mentioned it to personnel director Edd Poore. He made it clear to his staff. He even talked about his legacy to the St. Petersburg Times for a story that appeared in November. "Everybody in the county knew I was retiring," Wingrove said. But Wingrove discovered Friday, as he and district officials began shuffling paperwork to facilitate his retirement, that he's not actually due to retire until June 30, 2003. "There was a misunderstanding on my paperwork and we checked with Tallahassee and I have another year," Wingrove said Monday. "It was just an error." The misunderstanding has a ripple effect. Several district employees who are eager to become principals have been asking about the posting of the job vacancy at Powell Middle School for some time, Poore said. Superintendent Wendy Tellone had been preparing to fill two principal vacancies this year: one at Powell and another at Suncoast Elementary, where principal Tizzy Schoelles will eventually move to the county's new high school. Now Tellone has only one. "I was shocked," Tellone said. The state's Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) is available to vested school district employees who have reached age 62 or who have 30 years of service. Once enrolled in DROP, the employee can work for up to five years while having his retirement check deposited into an investment account that currently pays a 9.5 percent return annually, Poore said. With 34 years with the district, Wingrove could retire now if he wished, Poore said. But he must stay another year if he wants to maximize his benefits. Wingrove, who has voiced reservations about leaving his career behind, seemed to embrace the reprieve Monday even as he expressed regret for any problems the delay might cause. -- Times staff writer Robert King covers education in Hernando County and can be reached at 754-6127. Send e-mail to rking@sptimes.com.
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