This link is a brief video that reminds us that organizing starts from the grassroots and requires our work collectively. How can you get involved in making things better? Wellstone has some excellent ideas:
gpmartinson
EMR Members The Insurance Committee has information about next year’s negotiated insurance rates –and it’s generally positive news(a 2% reduction in overall rates). Linked to this message are spreadsheets showing the costs for medical and dental insurance coverage for plan year July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018. The rates listed in this document reflect the current contract and are subject to change as we enter into negotiations on your contract for 2017-19.
To summarize what is in the spreadsheet, starting at the top, the total premiums for the Preferred Gold Plan are listed, along with the District’s contribution. The employee’s monthly cost is listed (from July through June), and also what the payroll deduction amounts would be from October through May each plan year.
The second medical plan shown is the Aware PPO plan. This is the high deductible plan with the VEBA spending account. Total premiums are again shown, and then the breakdown in the gray shaded area showing how much the District contributes to the premium cost and how much is being contributed to the employee’s VEBA account. The employee’s monthly cost is listed as well as the payroll deduction amounts.
I would invite you all to note the cost savings for those considering moving from Aware Gold to the Aware PPO plan as listed in the spreadsheets.
The bottom section shows our dental costs – there is no change from last year.
Please let me, Cameron Johnson, Ben Schwanke or Julie Cyptar, our district insurance and benefits specialist know if you have any questions. Open Enrollment will begin soon and its important that you understand the benefits that come with the EM-R teacher’s contract with the district. Thank you.
This Saturday, May 20 we will be gathering at 11:15 at the Snelling and University Light Rail station to travel to Education Minnesota for the Rally for Public Education!
Where: Meet at Snelling Avenue Station
When: 11:15. We will travel by light rail to Education Minnesota Headquarters
It’s the last chance to:
- Rally for the schools, our kids deserve with parents, students, community members and hundreds of educators just like you.
- Stand for the students on the margins who need us the most.
- Tell legislators face-to-face to stop playing risky games with our children’s futures and start investing in their success.
- Support Gov, Dayton in his fight for public schools and colleges.
This July Dan Beck, Emily Bergquist and Gregg Martinson will be travelling to Boston to participate in the National Education Association’s annual convention. We would like to travel to Boston with good news for our national union that our members want to help elect pro-education candidates.
The NEA Fund is our voice in Washington—it speaks on behalf of our 3.2 million members from all 51 affiliates of the National Education Association. As the NEA’s national PAC, the NEA Fund provides direct financial support to recommended candidates for President, the U.S. House, and the U.S. Senate who will fight to support teachers, staff, and students and improve public education.
The NEA Fund also supports pro-public education candidates in gubernatorial and other important state races as well as making independent expenditures asking people to vote for or against candidates based on their position on public education.
Every member who contributes to the NEA Fund does so voluntarily. Every dollar contributed to a candidate, a political party, or independent expenditures is voluntarily given. NEA does not use dues dollars for this purpose. Just as the NEA Fund relies on small contributions from thousands of members, the NEA candidate recommendation process is driven by NEA membership. NEA never recommends or endorses a candidate for federal office without the support of State Association leaders.
You can help by contributing on our fundraising page, here. Thanks
Education Minnesota’s Educator Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) recently released a policy paper on transforming discipline practices in Minnesota public schools from an exclusionary approach to a restorative approach. April Jackson , teacher at Central Park, was part of the statewide committee examining current discipline practices and recommending structural changes to how school districts implement discipline. An executive summary of the report can be found here.
This weekend Ben Schwanke, Cameron Johnson, Dan Beck, Tom Hessler, Isaac Engel, Emily Bergquist and Gregg Martinson are attending the 19th annual Education Minnesota Representative Convention in Bloomington.
If you are interested please visit this Facebook invitation
The Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement is considering major changes to TRA contributions and benefits. The Board of Trustees has proposed a package that is balanced and should help keep the fund strong for generations.
Unfortunately, some are using this situation to propose unnecessary benefit cuts and increased active member out-of-pocket contributions. These ideas will exacerbate the teacher shortage and are designed to hurt public education.
Please call your legislators and the pension commission and indicate your support for the TRA proposal. The plan is thoroughly vetted and is the fairest way to ensure that our pension remains strong!
Feel free to contact your legislators through this link.
Last week, Sara, a science integrationist who helped design and implement Central Park’s SPARK Lab, was the featured guest during a surprise grant presentation (complete with a “big check”) by CenturyLink. Sara applied for and received more than $4800 from CenturyLink as part of the CenturyLink Clarke M. Williams Foundation’s Teachers and Technology grant program. The grants are designed to help fund projects that advance student success through the innovative use of technology. Congratulations, Sara!
Education Minnesota invites all members to a one-day symposium on trauma informed, restorative practices for educators. The event will take place on Saturday, May 13 at Education Minnesota headquarters in St. Paul. The symposium was designed by both classroom teachers and TA’s to address school safety concerns and provide new alternatives and intervention strategies to curb the over-reliance on exclusionary punishments. This symposium will start the important conversation on how we can work together to improve school safety, close achievement gaps, end structural racism, and build stronger schools.
Further details and registration information can be found on the attached document . Breakfast, lunch and CEU’s are provided.
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