JLARC Report on VRS

Rob Jones from VEA heard a recent JLARC presentation on VRS and its future. I'm copying the exact email Rob sent out in the hopes that you will have accurate, concise information. Keep in mind that JLARC is an audit and review committee. They do NOT create policy. However, they are listened to and respected in the General Assembly.

October 14, 2008

The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission presented their report entitled "Options for Total Compensation" on October 14th. The commission staff was doing what was asked of them, and we should not kill the messengers, but it is what we feared.

Before I summarize the implications of the report for school board employees, let me first expose a major flaw in the report when it is viewed from the public education perspective. For the state employees, the options were developed in the context of their total compensation package (salary, leave policies and health benefits). This was not true for school board employees. I thank Senator Edd Houck for pointing this fact out to his fellow commissioners.

The options contain new target salary goals for state workers, and leave purchase plans. In short, for state workers, there is sugar with the medicine. School board employees only get the medicine.

I'll try to summarize the options which will affect school board employees/VEA members.

First, it is important to understand that none of these options will affect folks who are already retired. The recommendations related to VRS are labeled "R" for retirement.

R1 - Impose an additional 2% employee contribution. This would be in addition to the 5% employee contribution now paid by your employee who also pays the employer contribution. This 2% might be phased-in .5% at a time in years when raises are granted.

R2 - Change the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) on retirement benefits by capping the increase at 4% a year rather than the current 5%. FYI - if, for purposes of illustration, you retroactively applied this change in the COLA to one who retired in 1978, the reduction in benefit would be 6% over the first 10 years and 12% after 30 years in retirement.

R3 - Increase the minimum retirement age for non-vested and new hires from 50 to age 60. Note: One becomes vested in VRS after five years of service.

R4 - For new and non-vested employees replace the Retiree Health Insurance Credit with Integral Part Trust (IPT) Accounts.

R5 - For new hires and non-vested employees combine a defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) plans. The DB plan would have a lesser benefit than the current VRS benefit. Employees would contribute to both. The COLA would only be included in the DB plan. This plan would provide 85% of the benefit in the current plan.

R6 - Require a Cash Balance Retirement Plan for new hires and non-vested employees. This is like a traditional defined contribution plan, except for the fact that a 5% return is guaranteed. Employees contribute with an employee match that increases with years of experience. There is no COLA on benefits. Entire balance can be withdrawn when separating from service.

R7 - Require a Defined Contribution Plan for new hires and non-vested employees. The matching contribution from the employer would increase with years of service. No COLA would be provided and the entire balance could be withdrawn when separating from service. Only two states now have this. The plan would provide 52% of the benefit value of the current VRS plan.

These options are not consistent with VEA's positions. As we await specific legislative proposals we will need your help with educating your colleagues regarding what looks like a battle ahead.

I have done my best to offer a concise and factual summary of the options that will affect school board employees. Additional information will follow.

Thank you,

Robley Jones

VEA GR

Carnival of the Blue

I received an email on September 26 from my friend Doris Boitnott* at VEA. Doris, who used to be a Uniserv Director here in Roanoke and a high school teacher in Roanoke County before that, has taken some flack over that email.

The email was in regard to an OBAMA BLUE DAY which was scheduled for September 30.

When I read this email, I chose not to pass it along to anyone in our organization. Very simply put, I do not believe that the RCEA should have a direct hand in organizing for or against any one political candidate. That is not to say that I believe teachers should surrender their political rights just because they are teachers either.

There has been local, statewide, and national attention given to the contents of the email, which I think is unfortunate. It's obvious to me that there are people and organizations with specific agendas who are trying to twist the meaning of the email content and capitalize on it for their personal gain. I find that deplorable.

Isn't it a bit ironic that with our educational system under stress in an election year, practically the first thing we hear about regarding education is this inflated story? I find that deplorable as well.

To each faithful member of our organization, I encourage you to exercise your right as a citizen of our country to wear whatever color shirt you desire.

Thom Ryder
RCEA President

* In an earlier version of their story, The Washington Times erroneously called Doris, "Debbie". In the current version, they misspell her name. "Dorris Boitnott, a VEA member and author of the e-mail, said that in hindsight she should not have paired the idea of supporting Mr. Obama with that of registering young voters. Mrs. Boitnott, who said she is not related to Kitty Boitnott, also said she had no intention of encouraging teachers to recruit students into a political campaign."

Electronics electronics Electronics

There is little doubt that the 2008-2009 school year in Roanoke County is filled with new technology and new initiatives. ActivBoards have been placed in each regular elementary school classroom by utilizing a significant monetary investment. Northside High School also received new ActivBoards in every classroom as well. In addition, teachers at the majority of the elementary schools received NEW laptop computers for teacher use. In an ordinary year, that electronic shift alone would be enough. But this year, there's even more to electronic news. New email. New benchmark assessments. And new electronic gradebooks for elementary school teachers.

As you might expect with so much new technology rolling out at the same time, there were bound to be some bugs, despite the technology crews working hard to roll out systems and products. Over the past week or so, members of the RCEA have contacted our office with concerns about the electronic gradebook system. The concerns center around two issues. First, with four weeks past in the school year and the gradebook program only now coming online, teachers were concerned about how it would be possible to get caught up on the system. In fact, several suggested that perhaps the program should be scrapped for this year. The other main issue brought up was that assuming the program does successfully launch, teachers will not be able to access the system from home, forcing teachers to enter all grades at school. This becomes an especially important issue at elementary schools where a teacher may, if lucky, have 30 minutes of unencumbered time during the contract school day. Thus, the data entry aspect of the job will be shifted to after school/after contract hours. Most teachers currently enjoy the flexibility to stay at school to finish grading/planning or taking the work home to work the unofficial day in a more relaxed setting.

These concerns were shared with Dr. Lange, and she was very understanding and responsive. Elementary principals have been given several options for the electronic gradebook. The most basic option is either have the entire faculty use it or have the entire school wait until next year to launch it. If the gradebook is launched this year, there are several options on how to handle the opening of the school year. Perhaps the most attractive option is to continue assigning grades in the usual manner, average the grades as usual, and then just enter the letter grade for this nine weeks on the electronic report card. Then ,beginning next nine weeks, the entire process can be accomplished on the electronic system.

Regarding the ability to work on grades at home with the system. Dr. Lange reported to us that at this time, it is not possible due to system security. to access the system from home in real time. She said that the technology staff is working on that issue.

If you are an elementary teacher, you may wish to work with your building principal to help make the best decision for your school. Please let the RCEA know if you have any further concerns. (ThomRyder:Newt999@gmail.com)

Field Trip

For the past three or four years now, I've had the pleasure of serving on VEA's Fitz Turner Commission for Human Relations and Civil Rights. Our commission, most notably, is the group that sponsors the Fitz Turner Award, The Mary Futrell Award, and the Youth Award for VEA. In my estimation, however, our primary responsibility is to monitor human relations and civil rights issues in our state and nation.

At our fall meeting over the weekend, we had the opportunity to hear from Lacy Ward, Jr. of the Robert Russa Moton Museum in Farmville, VA. Mr. Ward spoke to our commission along with our guest, VEA President Kitty Boitnott, for about a half hour. Rarely have I been so engaged in a subject. Mr. Ward's presentation was passionate and insightful.

So what's the big deal with the Moton Museum? Well I suspect that many Virginians do not know exactly how pivotal a role one small high school in Central Virginia was in to the civil rights movement. From the website, here's a taste.

The Moton High School is a nationally significant site in the history of the civil rights movement. Here a student-organized strike in April 1951 led to a federal court case on the essential issue of equal education for all Americans. It was heard by the Supreme Court of the United States as part of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education suit.

The Brown decision stands today as one of the Court’s most important actions, ruling that separate educational systems are inherently unequal and that all jurisdictions must cease to permit segregation within their schools.

Mr. Ward is hoping to get support for a new exhibit in the museum that celebrates the "Freedom Schools" that sprang up in response to "Massive Resistance" with the complete shut down of the school system in Prince Edward County.

After our meeting on Saturday, members of the commission took a field trip to the new Civil Rights Memorial at capital Square in Richmond. Below are a series of photographs from the memorial.

New Teacher Day

On August 12, the the crackerjack RCEA membership team met all of the new Roanoke County teachers on the cleverly named "New Teacher Day" at Hidden Valley High School.

Uniserv Director pat wood and RCEA Secretary Tammy Wood discuss last names.

heather Blevins and RCEA Elementary School representative Kenya Huffman talk third grade shop. Heather and Kenya both teach third grade at Herman L. Horn Elementary.

Making contact with a new member, Theresa McGuire, Bud McWhorter, and Kim Bibbs work the table.

It was time to lay back while the new teachers were in meetings.

Welcome to a New Beginning

Welcome to a New Beginning

Hope

For those of you who have been through the start of a school year, you know very well that the first day, while filled with some degree of the unknown, is also filled with optimism.

Challenges

There will be plenty. Buildings under construction. Students needing your guidance. Challenging learners. Navigating difficult economic times. Our job demands that we sift through the challenges to focus on our primary goal, providing the best possible education for our children. It’s not easy. It’s our job.

The RCEA stands behind you and beside you. We are more than an insurance policy; we are your professional organization and support. With nearly 1000 members, we are one of the largest employee organizations in Roanoke. We will continue to engage the school board and central office administrative staff positively, striving for improved salary and benefits, better working conditions, as well as reasonable professional policies.

Should you ever need us, our Uniserv staff, lead by Pat Wood, are conveniently located here in Roanoke. You can reach Pat or her office assistant, Sue Harris, at 540-362-3825.

May you experience hope and optimism the whole year!

Thom Ryder

RCEA President

Oak Grove Elementary

3^rd Grade

ReStoring Order

ReStoring Order

Each year at the NEA Convention for long time now, NEA delegates have gathered to complete a Habitat for Humanity project in the convention city. For most or all of those years, Bud McWhorter has represented the RCEA and VEA.

The Habitat for Humanity project this year was held on Wednesday, July 2. This year the group, organized by Karen McInnis of Minnesota, was sent to work at the Habitat Restore in South Alexandria. Bud McWhorter and Thom Ryder were two of the three Virginians on the crew. By far, most of the volunteers were from Delaware with a few volunteers from other states.

At the ReStore, a place that sells donated home materials at greatly reduced cost, the band of NEA volunteers were sent out into the store to straighten the place up. Sounds easy…but it was anything but simple.

One crew set about organizing miscellaneous nuts and bolts. Another crew rearranged cabinets. Still another crew straightened rows of furniture. One guy even set fixing up an electrical light fixture display.

Most challenging was the incredible tile aisle. Before the crew was unleashed upon it, ceramic tile was strewn haphazardly all over the place up and down the aisle. Different sizes and styles were all mixed up. The intrepid team of plucky volunteers knelt and began sorting and organizing. In a couple of hours, the aisle was a beautiful testament to organization. When the store manager inspected the work, he was most impressed…so impressed in fact, that he immediately ordered several pallets stacked high with mixed and mismatched ceramic tiles to be fork lifted out to the aisle. When those were done being dealt with, more were brought…it almost didn’t seem to end. Eventually for the Team NEA, the job was done, and they were returned to the comfort of the Convention Center.

In this fast-paced world, taking time to serve those in need is both rewarding and the right thing to do.

{Click Photos to enlarge}

Group leader, Karen McInnis talks with Convention Staff

Plumbing

Bulbs

Toilets and Sinks

Doing what he does

Tile...the first wave

All done...Not

Tile redux

Tile Redux II

Really finally done

Electric Lights

Delaware

Another look at Delaware