RHTA Minutes

January 27, 2016

• CEA
  • Membership – members can log onto cea.org to update their own information. If your information is inaccurate on your CEA card, please update it.
  • Friedrich’s vs California Teachers Association: At the Supreme Court level.  It looks as though this will pass.  5/9 are on board with this, this is NOT good for us.  Essentially, Friedrich’s only want to pay the Unions Agency Fee (not the full dues) yet still want and expect the benefits associated with being a FULL member.  When this happened in Wisconsin, effects on teachers ranged from increased class sizes, decreased salaries and the minimum age for retirement increased.  If the courts votes in favor of Friedrichs, it is likely we will lose our collective bargaining / negotiating leverage for contract negotiations as well.  It would likely result in reduced healthcare, reduced pensions etc.  Teachers will be pitted against each other.  We need to ban together and stay together.  Expect your union reps to be touching base with you individually or on a small group level.
• BOE Meeting
  • Budget hearings have begun. Proposals include a new intermediate school on the Moser site, portables for West Hill, hiring 4 new elementary teachers.  The BOE recognizes that the portables are a band-aid fix.  We are 1 of 16 towns in the state that are growing in student enrollment.  Many districts are closing schools or consolidating schools because there is a decline in enrollment (teachers are losing or in danger of losing their jobs).
  • Zito presented a data chart for our DRG highlighting our test scores and per pupil expenditures. Even though our per pupil expenditure is low compared to other districts in our DRG, we have surpassed others in our DRG in SBAC and testing.  Our schools produce average to high average test results at a lower cost.  They are getting a good product/outcome for the amount of money being put in.
  • The State Department of Education sent a letter of commendation, based on our demographics, commending Rocky Hill for their performance in math SBAC.
  • Next meeting Thursday February 11^th.
• EYE MED
  • As per Chuck’s email, it is an eye care insurance alternative. Register online. Providers are listed or you can call your doctor to see if they are in network.  If you threw yours away because we were not made aware that we should be anticipating these insurance cards, please call Lynn Boisvert at central office and let her know.  She will request new cards be sent to you.

• Insurance
  • There have been various issues with the HSA. Services not being covered when they should be covered.  We were told that the HSA is modeled after the OAP plan.  Please make sure you are aware of your coverage and contact Lynn Boisvert if you run into any problems.
  • There are some stipulations and guidelines regarding HSA and Medicare that we were unaware of, particularly to qualify for an HSA you cannot be enrolled in Medicare (this is per the IRS law). We are still trying to gain answers to this question and what it means for those of us who are 65 years old with HSA coverage.  Michelle will be contacting Kim Davis in regards to this as well as the HRA.
• 457 Account vs 403B
  • Both are pre-tax accounts. You can contribute to both accounts now.
  • The maximum you can contribute to the 457 depends on your age. The maximum you can contribute to a 403B is set by the IRS, currently approximately $20,000-22,000 per year.
  • The difference – you can withdraw from the 457 account before the age of 59 ½ without penalty.

• PAYSTUB: Be sure to check your paystub for accuracies!  If there is a mistake or you are not sure of something, contact Jo-Anne Turcotte at central office.
• General Concerns
  • Copiers still continue to break down and pose problems.
  • Specials class sizes are large and at the elementary school over-crowded. 40/50 regular elementary classes are over capacity.  The boards policy regarding class sizes is what they try to maintain.  They are aware that many classes are over the desired number.
• Certification
  • It is your responsibility to know when your certification expires and to complete the necessary paperwork to keep it current.
• RHTA Website
  • rhta.org please continue to check the website for up to date information regarding RHTA

NEXT MEETING:

Wednesday February 24, 2016

GMS Media Center

3:45PM

PLEASE JOIN US!