Recent public school retirees will be able to continue tp serve as coaches, game officials and in other sports-related roles for limited compensation without having their retirement benefits affected, thanks to a bill signed into law Tuesday.
As reported by the Michigan High School Athletic Association, which supported Public Act 147 (PA 147), the legislation amends PA 184, which was signed into law July 25, 2022, and required a retiring public school employee to wait nine months before being rehired — effectively sidelining several longtime coaches, officials and others who play substantial roles in school sports all over the state.
PA 147, signed into law Tuesday by Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, instead allows recent retirees to work for a public school district during the first six months of retirement as long as the individual earns less than $15,100 during a calendar year. The great majority of coaches, officials and others who contribute to school sports — public-address announcers, team bus drivers, scoreboard operators and other game managers, for example — earn far less compensation than that maximum allowed with this bill.
Soon after the signing of PA 184 during the summer of 2022, the MHSAA met with the state’s Office of Retirement Services and several legislators seeking ways to allow public school retirees to remain employed in athletics without that nine-month pause, or without having to work and not be paid. (Prior to PA 184, retirees were required to be detached from a school district for only 30 days before being rehired at less than 30 percent of their compensation at the time of retirement. This allowed most retirees to do so at the end of a school year and then return after 30 days to continue coaching, officiating, etc.)
MHSAA executive director Mark Uyl and assistant director Cody Inglis, and Brighton High School athletic director John Thompson – who serves on the MHSAA Representative Council – all testified in support of PA 147, which was sponsored by 13 legislators from the Michigan House of Representatives and introduced by Rep. Matt Koleszar from Plymouth.
"This new public act fixes the biggest MHSAA concern that recent retirees could not return to coach or officiate during their bona fide retirement period," Uyl said. "Our schools desperately need these experienced and knowledgeable people to continue contributing to athletics, and we're pleased that they'll have that opportunity."
