A former teacher has let state lawmakers know about the dire circumstances of some former state educators. Retired art teacher Thomas Curry says the average monthly pension benefit of 847-dollars hasn’t changed since 2002. Lawmakers from a joint session of the House and Senate Democratic policy committees met last week to talk about possible increases in the state education budget. Advocates say the committees need to approve at least a cost-of-living increase for public retirees and tie future adjustments to the consumer price index.