UNION CITY -- Some of the New Haven school district's most experienced teachers could be leaving the classroom at the end of the school year.

To cut mounting costs and alleviate a $1 million deficit, New Haven is offering teachers an early-retirement incentive.

"The effort is to reduce ongoing expenses in the district budget," Interim Superintendent Susan Speakman said at Tuesday's school board meeting.

At the meeting, she said an incentive option also could be extended to certificated non-union members, including administrators, she said.

The savings would come when the district replaces its higher-paid veteran teachers with cheaper novice instructors. The district pays teachers between $49,680 and $87,528 annually.

The five-member school board voted 3-0 on Tuesday to implement the program, which would be paid on top of teachers' state pensions. Trus-tees Linda Fernandes and Barbara Aro-Valle were absent from the meeting.

To qualify for the package, teachers must either have served for 30 years or be at least 55 years old, and submit their resignation to the district by April.

About 160 teachers will be eligible for the incentive. The group will have 60 days, starting early next week, to decide if they will accept the offer.

New Haven has promised to institute the plan if at least 45 certificated teachers participate, officials say. If not enough teachers embrace the incentive, the district either can go ahead with the program or drop the option and reinstate teachers who agreed to retire.

The payout will be based on both the number of teachers who choose to retire and their current salary. For example, if between 45 and 49 retirees sign on, they will be paid 5.75 percent of their 2003-04 salary for a specific period of time. Payment options include a monthly payment for life or fixed payments that could be rolled into a retirement account.

Don Heinsohn, president of the teachers' union, described the offer as "a mixed blessing."

"There are 160 stories about how (teachers) feel about this," he said Tuesday. "But nobody is unhappy, that's for sure."

Unlike a package offered to Newark teachers last month, which stemmed from new state legislation, New Haven's retirement plan will supplement the California State Teachers Retirement System.

Heinsohn said the teachers' union is in negotiations with the district to offer a retirement package based on the state legislation.

Last year, the Fremont district offered a retirement deal -- similar to New Haven's arrangement -- that allowed teachers to collect an extra $263 a month for life, or $50,000 over five years, if they agreed to retire that year. About 100 teachers accepted the offer.