DPI to Hold Hearing on SAGE/AGR Rule
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 10, 2016
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction will conduct a hearing from 2:30 to 4 p.m., Aug. 25, at the DPI’s headquarters, in Madison to accept public testimony on modifications to rules for the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program and the recently created Achievement Gap Reduction program so the administrative rules align with current law.
Additional information is available in the DPI news release here.
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Primary Results, General Election Matchups
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 10, 2016
For more information on yesterday’s primary election results, as well as the general election matchups for Congress, Senate and Assembly, see the following from The Wheeler Report:
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Wisconsin Incumbents Survive Primary Challenges
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 10, 2016
From WisPolitics.com …
Every incumbent member of the House delegation and the state Legislature who faced a challenge survived primary day in Wisconsin.
House Speaker Paul Ryan as well as U.S. Reps. Ron Kind, Gwen Moore and Sean Duffy all garnered more than 80 percent of the vote yesterday.
Other incumbent winners last night included a host of Assembly Dems plus state Sen. Lena Taylor, who got 61 percent of the vote in the 4th Senate District against fellow Milwaukee Dem, Rep. Mandela Barnes.
In the state’s most competitive congressional district this fall, Mike Gallagher, getting 74 percent of the primary vote, beat state Sen. Frank Lasee and Terry McNulty to win the 8th CD primary in northeastern Wisconsin. The ex-Marine will go on to meet Outagamie County Exec Tom Nelson in the November election in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Sherwood.
In the targeted 18th Senate District around Fond du Lac, Republican Dan Feyen, whose opponent was stung by negative ads, emerged to take on Winnebago County Exec Mark Harris, who won his Dem primary. One of them will succeed retiring Republican Sen. Rick Gudex.
And in other Milwaukee primary races of note, former state Rep. Jason Fields is poised to return to the Assembly while Rep. LaTonya Johnson is in line to succeed departing Sen. Nikiya Harris Dodd.
See more from yesterday’s primaries in the WisPolitics Election Blog.
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New Video Available On Hiring & Rehiring Of WRS Annuitants
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 4, 2016
(We recommend that you download the outline for the video and follow along during the video presentation.)
The combination of budget cuts and Wisconsin’s “double-dipping” statute has put Wisconsin school districts in a difficult spot when trying to find qualified teachers for hard-to-fill positions. 2013 Wisconsin Act 20 (Act 20) made substantial changes to the statutory provisions governing Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) annuitants who return to work for WRS-participating employers after retirement.
Before Act 20, districts could re-hire any retired teacher after a 30-day period of separation (break-in-service) from all WRS employment. Upon re-hire, the retiree could choose to suspend receipt of the annuity and become a WRS participant, or continue to receive the annuity, but not be a WRS-eligible participating employee. Many teachers chose the latter option and, under this arrangement, the teacher and the district were not required to make annual contributions to WRS (each paying 6.8% of the teacher’s earnings in 2015 and 6.6% in 2016). This allowed the districts to save money and fill vacant positions while making use of retirees’ considerable expertise.
This option is still available for teachers who retired on or before July 1, 2013. However, Act 20 made the following significant changes to the law as it applies to retirees who terminated WRS participating employment after that date:
- Increased the required minimum break-in-service period from 30 to 75 days.
- Provided for automatic suspension of the annuities of retirees hired to work in WRS-eligible positions for at least 2/3 of what ETF considers to be full time (880 hours for teachers, administrators, and education support staff).
As a result of these changes, districts have found it more difficult to attract recent retirees to hard-to-fill positions. SAA member complaints regarding the impact of the law on hiring have grown in volume and intensity throughout the 2014-15 school year. In response, the SAA began working with a small working group of superintendents to identify and develop a reasonable legislative response to the problem.
What we initially found however, was enormous confusion among SAA members over the application of the new law by the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF). Therefore, we believed our first priority was to clarify the application of the law for the membership. I was joined in this endeavor by Attorney Mike Julka of the Boardman & Clark law firm. Attorney Julka’s experience and expertise were absolutely indispensable in sorting through the layers of complexity involved.
After more than four months of investigation and numerous meetings and other communications with ETF personnel, Attorney Julka, the SAA and the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators (WASDA) have produced a video that we believe clarifies the application of the law. We encourage all SAA members involved in hiring staff to watch the video.
Special thanks to Attorney Mike Julka for providing this outstanding service to SAA members.
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Walker Gives Agencies Budget Directions
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 1, 2016
From The Wheeler Report . . .
Governor Walker has given agencies his budget recommendations for the 2017-19 biennial budget. Walker told agency heads he is directing them to “maintain their overall fiscal year 2017-18 and 2018-19 GPR budgets at the fiscal year 2016-17 adjusted base.” Walker said the zero-growth targets will also apply to SEG-funded administrative operations. Agency heads were told to “take a fresh look at all programs and identify ways to realign resources in order to fund initiatives within their current base, rather than seek additional resources the taxpayers can’t afford.” Walker said he wants to extend the UW tuition freeze, and reallocate savings in the state budget towards K-12.
Walker reminded agency heads that legislation passed during the 2015-16 session requires agency heads to submit two proposals; one that relates to a 0% change from agency base, and one that relates to a 5% reduction from agency base. Agency budget requests are due September 15. A second document highlights the budget targets:
- Exceptions to zero growth will occur only for K-12 school aids; required basic cost-to-continue needs for state institutions (DOC, DHS (MA), DCF Safety and Permanence, DWD Vocational Rehabilitation).
- Zero growth to apply to SEG-funded administrative operations in agencies that are supported by the transportation fund, the conservation fund, the environmental fund and the lottery fund.
- Any additional staffing needs must be met through base reallocations.
- Budget requests for information technology projects should identify the link between the project and the state’s business goals, conformity to DOA’s policy and procedures for Information Technology Management, and provide specific information about each project.
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