Milwaukee Public Schools are groaning under a host of financial and academic problems, but one school leaders hadn't foreseen is a projected $2 billion shortfall that would result from the extraordinarily generous fringe benefit package now in effect for retirees.

The district's school board hired a New York consulting firm to analyze its benefits package relative to other school districts in Wisconsin and nationwide. The report showed that the Milwaukee district is spending more than twice as much on fringe benefits both for current employees and retirees as a comparison group of employers. For every dollar the district spends on salary, it doles out 61.5 cents on benefits, compared to an average of 24.5 cents in about three dozen other districts. Even part-time workers in Milwaukee public schools are treated extra nice, getting access to benefits that are normally reserved for full-time employees.

While they enjoy the generous benefits during their term of employment, most of Milwaukee's teachers don't get the outsized retirement package. A teacher would have to remain in the Milwaukee school system for the majority of her career to qualify, something the district has had a hard time persuading many to do. Instead, those getting the retirement plum are more likely to be "classified" employees (such as clerks and cafeteria workers). School board member Terry Falk concedes the only reason the district hasn't collapsed under the weight of benefits is teacher turnover, hardly a solution that anyone's boasting about.