Over 30 years of retirement, Cooley would collect as much as $1.09 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes West Central Reporter.
The projection assumes Cooley received $22,925 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.
After 4 years of retirement, Cooley will have already received $95,910 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.