Just as many other districts are doing in some form in the face of budget woes, the East Aurora School District is dangling the carrot for an early retirement incentive, much like it did last year.

The new twist is that this time the incentive also is being offered to nonteaching, civil service personnel instead of just teachers.

“We’re looking at all different strategies on how to build a budget and reduce costs as much as possible,” Superintendent James Bodziak said Monday.

The district faces a $619,000 state aid cut this year under Gov. David A. Paterson’s budget proposal, though state building aid helped offset what could have been a $900,000 hit, since the district is still finishing an ongoing capital project at its Middle School that is nearly complete.

Similar to what it offered its teachers last year, the district is allowing eligible teachers who file their retirement resignation notice with the district by this Friday to buy back 40 percent of their unused sick days up to a maximum of 250 days. Without the incentive, the teachers’ contract allows for a buy-back of 15 percent of their unused sick days up to the cap of 250 days.

The new caveat is the district also is casting the net wider by extending a nearly similar incentive to civil service personnel such as clerk typists, buildings and grounds staff and custodians. In their case, they must have worked for the district for 10 years to be eligible. For their buy-back of unused sick days, the district also will increase their buy-back to 40 percent from 12 percent. Their cap on unused sick days is 240 days.

Bodziak said any money the district would pay out toward these incentives would be funded from a retirement reserve fund established by the district and would not come from the budget’s general fund.

About six or seven teachers are eligible, Bodziak estimated.

The administration plans to release its preliminary budget figures at the board’s March 10 meeting.