Meeting Week Begins!

Meeting Week Begins!

Monday took me to two meetings after school.  First up was the Employee Advisory Committee (EAC) followed directly by the Roanoke County PTA Council Meeting featuring a special presentation on Sequestration.   I learned a few things from these meetings that I can share with all of you.

EAC

The meeting was hosted by Dr. Whitaker, Dr. Lange, and Mr. Journell.

•   Allen Journell spoke to the body of school representatives about school calendar development.    He’s concerned that we may have to actually follow the Commonwealth’s post-Labor Day School Opening law (King’s Dominion Law) next year.  For many years now, Roanoke County Schools have opened prior to Labor Day thanks to a waiver from the state.  That waiver expires after this year unless we miss ten or more school days due to inclement weather.  If we do, we will get a one year reprieve.  More likely is that we will not meet the ten day requirement.  If that happens we will have to open after Labor Day.  This will mean the compression of the school calendar, Mr. Journell suggested.  Winter break will likely be shorter, and we will lose some of our scattered work days throughout the school year.  Dr. Lange said that they would preserve a week break in the spring.  I asked if they have explored holding high school graduations at individual high schools to open up some flexibility in the school calendar or are they locked in to using the Salem Civic Center.  All three hosts explained that they will keep the Salem Civic Center dates because parents really like having graduation there and the facility has plenty of parking and space inside.

•  Dr. Lange spoke about the upcoming local school budget and pending sequestration.  She noted that county revenues and real estate tax collections are trending down this year.  State funding is a huge question mark with increased funding unlikely.  Federal monies are tied up in the sequestration mess.  If sequestration were to occur, Roanoke County Schools would likely see a 7-9% decrease in federal funding.  Since most of the federal programs are mandated by law, either the state or locality would have to pick up the reduction or the cuts will come right from the general school funds.  This would impact jobs, since 80-90% of the school budget is invested in personnel.  Dr. Lange and the school board plan to ask the supervisors to petition the state to allow for a 1% increase in the lodging tax.  If such tax hike is allowed, about one million dollars could be generated.

• Dr. Whitaker spoke about a new program called “Employee Self Serve.”  This is a program that will eliminate the paper trail for paychecks.  All payments will be handled online as will all reports.  Essentially, we will have paperless pay stubs.  Look for this system to come online by January 1, 2013. It’s a lot like Aesop.  J

• Dr. Whitaker also spoke about the latest in insurance options.  The county is currently investigating several ideas.

o   Health Savings Accounts (HSA):  These health insurance programs for current employees only are a voucher-like savings plan.  They theoretically encourage participants to use less health care by enforcing a higher deductible and offer cash back to users for not using insurance services.  As an aside, study of this type of plan was originally initiated by the county at a joint work session between the school board and the county board of supervisors last year. 

o   Wellness Options:  These options will offer lower rates for non-smokers and people who get yearly check-ups among other things.  They would be in place for current and retired employees.  No further details or explanations were given.

o   Keep the current plan intact

At this point, school concerns were addressed. 

•   One of the first was a question about “strongly encouraged” quarterly meetings.  The person bringing the issue noted that elementary school teachers could be on the hook for 16 or more quarterly meetings (4 Math, 4 English, 4 Science, 4 Social Studies).  Dr. Lange acknowledged the elementary quandary.  She told us point blank that elementary teachers should send representatives to these meetings and share the information with their colleagues.  She said that she would discuss this issue with the elementary school principals.  She also said that the quarterly meetings were instituted this year in response to our low Math SOL scores.  Last year’s meetings were not well-attended and she noted that our scores had dropped.  She said that we need to be at these meetings to “learn strategies.”  Dr. Whitaker added, however, that “Teachers cannot work any harder.”

•  A representative asked about the possibility of getting paid over 12 months.   Dr. Lange and Dr. Whitaker dismissed that possibility.  Dr. Lange suggested utilizing a hold pay account at the credit union.  As an aside, employees are better off getting paid over 10 months.  You get your money sooner and can put it to use for you earning massive interest.  12 month pay is like a free loan for the county.

• Another representative asked about the issue of new Mac’s vs old Dell’s at the high schools.  Dr. Lange affirmed that there is no hard date to retire the Dell’s. 

• Another representative asked if elementary school teachers could take an i-Pad home to explore the machines and find instructional uses.  Dr. Lange said that would not be possible since the machines are not insured for home use.  “Kids should be figuring it out,” Dr. Lange said.

PTA/Sequestration Meeting

The Roanoke County Council of PTA’s met at NMS on Monday night.  The meeting featured Dr. McLung and Dr. Eastwood discussing the possible perils of federal sequestration.  Dr. Lange also spoke as did school board members Jerry Canada and David Wymer.

The meeting was a call to action.  We need to be writing our US Senators and Congressmen to share our views on sequestration.  Congress has until December 31 to act to stop this horrific axe blade.  You can find useful links, addresses, talking points, and sample letters at the Sequestration Link on the RCPS web page.

Tomorrow will take me to a English/Reading quarterly meeting followed by a school PTA meeting.  Meeting week is fun!

Thom Ryder