SAA Pressure Modifies “Double-Dipping” Language
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | May 23, 2013
On Tuesday, May 21, the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) modified the so-called “double-dipping” provisions of Assembly Bill 40 (State Budget Bill) in response to concerns voiced by Wisconsin school administrators. The motion, authored by Assembly Co-Chair John Nygren, does the following:
- Extends the required break-in-service provision for rehiring WRS annuitants from 30 to 75 days.
- Provides that, if a participant receiving an annuity is employed in a WRS-covered position in which he or she is expected to work at least 1,392 hours, the annuity would be suspended. The Nygren motion changed the Governor’s original threshold for suspension — at least two-thirds of what is considered full-time employment by the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) For teachers, that would be 880 hours. Co-Chair Nygren said he authored the change after hearing concerns from school administrators. Please note, according to ETF, full-time employment for a teacher is considered to be 1,320 hours.
- Includes “contracted” employees in the provisions outlined above.
- “Grandfathers” those participating WRS-covered employees that retire on or before the effective date of the bill.
While the SAA certainly opposed the “double dipping” motion adopted by JFC, clearly the changes made to the original two-thirds threshold language does make it easier for school districts to hire annuitants to fill vital instructional positions.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
JFC Recommends Rural Task Force
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | May 23, 2013
On a 15-1 vote Tuesday, the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) adopted a motion authored by Assembly Co-Chair John Nygren to recommend that the Legislative Council establish a rural schools task force by August 1, 2013. The task force would be charged with identifying funding challenges faced by rural schools, particularly in the areas of transportation and technology, and developing a plan based on long-term challenges faced by rural schools, such as declining enrollment, aging population, and other unique challenges for rural districts. The task force would be requested to report to the Joint Legislative Council by April 1, 2014.
The SAA will monitor this issue in anticipation of the task force.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
State Budget Video Update/Alert
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | May 16, 2013
Please watch this 4-minute Video Alert from John Forester on vitally important state budget issues. Thank you.
Topics: Legislative Action, SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
Legislative Alert: Employing WRS Annuitants
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | May 15, 2013
As you probably know, Assembly Bill 40 (State Budget Bill) contains provisions relating to post-retirement employment of WRS annuitants. The bill modifies the required break-in-service provision for rehiring WRS annuitants from 30 to 75 days. It also provides that, if a participating annuitant is employed in a WRS-covered position in which he or she is expected to work at least two-thirds of what is considered full-time employment by ETF, the participant’s annuity must be terminated and no annuity payment may be payable until after the participant terminated covered employment. If adopted, these provisions will adversely impact Wisconsin school children and Wisconsin taxpayers.
The SAA delivered its memo on the issue to the 16 members of the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) yesterday. Today, I’m asking you to support that message with your letter or phone call to Joint Finance Committee members and your own legislators. Use the information in the SAA’s memo and your own experience to request that the Committee member’s remove these provisions from the Budget Bill. Here is the contact information for the JFC members as well as the Senate Directory, Assembly Directory and Who Are My Legislators.
Here are several of the talking points from the SAA’s memo for your convenience:
· The provisions will jeopardize school districts’ ability to provide certain special education services as required by state and federal law. Many school districts, especially those in rural areas, have great difficulty finding qualified special educators such as Speech/Language Pathologists and School Psychologists. Retirees returning to the classroom to teach or serve as instructional aids have proven indispensable in meeting this need. Districts could contract for private services in some cases, but at much higher cost. This is about providing required services to kids.
· Many districts find it extremely difficult to find qualified math and science teachers especially for advanced courses. Often a retired teacher is the difference in a district’s ability to offer advanced course opportunities to students.
· Retired teachers and administrators make up the core of many districts’ substitute teacher pool. We are unsure of the impact these provisions would have on how often retirees could serve as substitutes.
· Many districts find it very difficult to fill less-than-full-time positions with highly qualified educators. These situations often work well for recently retired educators.
· In cases of unexpected departure or illness, retirees with proven track records of success in teaching or administration can provide much-needed experience and stability on an interim basis.
· In some rural school districts, the candidate pools for open district administrator positions are so thin that a recently retired superintendent may be their only viable option. Given the incredible instructional and fiscal challenges facing public schools, I hope that we do not, as a matter of state policy, discourage qualified retired administrators from providing the kind of experienced school leadership that the students, parents and taxpayers in these communities deserve.
· These provisions will adversely impact CESAs’ ability to continue providing cost-effective services to Wisconsin school districts. CESAs were designed, at least in part, to provide cost-effective services to school districts that do not have the capacity to provide these services themselves. The biggest service area for most CESAs is special education. CESAs employ many highly qualified retired educators that do a great job providing high quality, cost-effective services to school districts.
· These provisions create incentives for retired teachers and administrators to take their annuity and either go to work in the private sector or take their experience and expertise to Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, or any other state. For Wisconsin to lose this type of experience and expertise to another state would be a travesty.
· We hear assertions by the proponents of these provisions that the current practice of hiring retirees is harming the Wisconsin Retirement Fund. And we are all concerned about the solvency of the system. But, it is clear that those assertions have not been established as fact. In fact, the only way to determine that definitively is by conducting an actuarial study. The SAA supports the completion of such a study to inform this policy development process.
Thank you for your attention to this issue. Our response to this challenge will, in large part, determine our success on this issue. The Joint Finance Committee needs to hear from SAA members on this issue.
Topics: Legislative Action, SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
The Voucher Lobby
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | May 14, 2013
Bruce Murphy has produced a fascinating article on the voucher lobby. Take a moment to read the article linked here and also send it to your legislators with your comments.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »