The Chilton County School System has lost a higher number of employees than normal this year because of the new Public Education Employees Health Insurance Plan (PEEHIP) law.

The deadline for employees to retire without incurring higher insurance premiums under PEEHIP was Dec. 1 of this year.

Chilton County Schools Superintendent Dave Hayden said about 30 teachers and support personnel retired by Dec. 1, and he estimates 24 retired primarily because of the insurance changes.

“We lost some good teachers and support persons, but it looks like we’re going to gain some good people,” Hayden said. “Our principals are in the process of interviewing and making replacements.”

Hayden said the larger wave of retirees has resulted in more substitute teachers, but as a whole, it has not caused a huge disruption in classroom instruction.

“We’d like to keep it as smooth as possible,” Hayden said of the hiring process. “The principals have handled it real well (and) kept the schools going.”