2019 Employee Benefits Presentation
Just in case you have further questions or missed our meeting yesterday, here is the link to the 2019 Employee Benefit presentation.
Open enrollment begins May 6th!
Let your Exec Board know if you have any questions.
ADSA Union Meeting Tonight
We will be meeting tonight starting at 4:00 pm in the Stout Team Planning Room.
There will be many topics covered, the most important will be our health insurance with Kim Nicolson.
Hope to see everyone there!
Some News from our A.D.S.A. President
We are currently still in a lawsuit with the state to get the real interest from the 3% that was held from us. Mark Cousens seems to think that we have a good chance at winning.
Bill Preserves Title II Funding.
Education Week (3/22) reports the bill preserves $2 billion in funding for Title II teacher development programs “despite President Donald Trump’s proposal to eliminate the program entirely.” The Trump administration argued that the program is ineffective, but “the proposal to eliminate Title II sparked backlash among the education community,” with advocates saying “state and district leaders are working to improve professional development, in large part due to the Every Student Succeeds Act, which calls for PD Programs to be evidence-based.”
General Membership Meeting Tonight!
Hope you can join us tonight for our General Membership Meeting. The meeting will be held at William Ford, starting at 4:00 pm
“Seeking Adequate Funding for Michigan K-12 Schools”
A Panel Discussion featuring
Regional Superintendents
Michigan Legislators
This discussion will focus on –
Can we reverse the academic decline in Michigan’s schools
without addressing the funding issue?
A recent report released by the US Department of Education notes
that Michigan increased spending on prisons more than five times
faster than it did on public education from 1979-2013. Meanwhile,
Michigan school performance continues to fall further behind. At the
current rate of decline, our state will rank 48th by 2030.
Panelists will discuss the report’s implications for Michigan’s
children. After a presentation from the panelists, the audience will
have an opportunity to pose questions to the panelists.
The Panel moderator will be Alicia Nails, Director of the Journalism
Institute for Media Diversity at Wayne State University.
When
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Where
Wayne State University
Student Center Building
Hilberry Rooms (2nd Floor)
5221 Gullen Mall
Program
Registration & Reception
5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
An opportunity to network with
Panel Members and fellow
educators.
Refreshments will be served.
Panel Discussion
6:00 – 7:45 p.m.
Parking Information
Free parking details will be
provided upon RSVP.
For additional information
about this event, contact
Carla Harting at
ae2562@wayne.edu
or (313) 577-1675
Supported by:
Leonard Kaplan Education
Collaborative for Critical
Urban Studies and
The Metro Bureau
MPSERS Level Funding – Oppose HB 5355
You may be getting calls and emails from legislators concerning House Bill 5355. Below is the content of a memo that several education groups will be circulating to legislators.
MASA opposes House Bill 5355 and its impact on school budgets. The legislation would change the MPSERS system payment method from a level percentage of payroll to a level dollar method while also reducing the payroll growth assumption built into the MPSERS system. In theory this is a good practice, however when coupled with several other changes to the retirement system dating back to Public Act 92 of 2017, costs will increase significantly on school districts and the state.
MASA urges the consideration of the following issues when debating this bill:
- When factoring in all contributions to the retirement system, Michigan already spends as a percentage of payroll more than any other state in the nation on retirement costs.
- PA 92 of 2017 changed the way districts pay retirement costs going forward from percent of payroll to growth in current operating expenditures (COE). This could increase districts cost above the established 20.96%. Their unfunded liability payments will potentially increase.
- ORS has implemented a Dedicated Gains Policy where any market returns above the assumed rate of return (now 7.75%) will be reinvested in the system to lower the Assumed Rate of Return (AROR). Reducing the AROR will cause UAAL and normal costs to increase for districts.
- This legislation would reduce the assumed payroll growth over time from 3.5% to 0%. It will cause UAAL and normal costs to increase for districts.
- PA 92 of 2017 and HB 5355 implement a floor policy that ensures the state will not spend any less on the retirement system than the prior year. This floor provision along with the other provisions listed above will make it so retirement costs will only increase going forward. As an example, the additional $200 million that was put towards the retirement system last year flows through to school districts and thus with the COE provision will be included in all future payments.
There is merit to the level dollar concept being put forward in House Bill 5355, however when coupled with all the changes listed above that are not yet implemented, school districts will see a significant increase in their costs impacting the dollars available for the classroom. This bill is reforming reforms this Legislature just put into place last year that have not yet taken effect.
MASA strongly encourages a no vote on House Bill 5355 and oppose the cost increases to local districts. Before making further and potentially unnecessary changes to the MPSERS system, it should be allowed to adjust for the changes already made.
If you have any questions, please contact MASA.
Peter Spadafore
Associate Executive Director, Government Relations
Michigan Association of School Administrators
pspadafore@gomasa.org
Happy Principal’s Month
Thank you for your hard work, dedication, and all that you do.
You make our schools great!
MASSP This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
The Senate Education Committee kicked off the week with a hearing Tuesday on legislation that would expand the scope of Michigan’s current education savings account (ESA) program (which currently covers only higher education) to include education-related expenses for K-12 students (e.g. pay-to-play fees, tutoring, field trip costs, and similar supplementary education services). Michigan’s constitutional prohibition against vouchers also protects against giving tax credits for non-public school tuition, so dollars in the proposed ESA program couldn’t be used for non-public school tuition, but concerning comments were made by committee members during the hearing about this proposal being an “innovative” way to bring additional money into the K-12 education system…comments that should be concerning for educators and parents alike since many of the costs incurred by K-12 students exist because of cuts to public education spending. The House Education Committee took testimony Thursday on legislation that would allow Michigan students in border communities to dual-enroll across state lines in out-of-state colleges or universities that are within 20 miles of the state border. The bill, which is sponsored by Rep. Aaron Miller (R-Sturgis), drew a fair amount of criticism from committee members who had a variety of concerns with the legislation, mainly focused around the idea of sending taxpayer dollars out of Michigan. Meanwhile, the rumors are flying (though facts are scarce) about what might eventually be included in a planned K-12 budget supplemental that legislators are working on behind the scenes and which is expected to be revealed later this month.