The Channel - a blog for Central Rivers AEA staff and board members Our Mission: To Deliver High-quality, evidence-based, and strategic services to our education partners that meet the diverse needs of iowa's learners (birth-21_), educators, and school Communities.

Month: December 2021

  • Events and reminders

    Holiday giving opportunity for the shelters
    If you would like to donate funds to purchase holiday stockings filled with goodies for each student and a special catered holiday meal at each shelter location (Four Oaks, Woodhaven & Francis Lauer Youth Shelter), simply click on the ”GoFundMe” account. The deadline for giving is Monday, December 13.  Any excess funds will be used to purchase classroom games, books, supplies and personal items.

    Coffee with the Chief recording available
    A recording of today’s Coffee with the Chief is available to view for those who were not able to join us.  (Passcode: q6AG8@r9)

    The next opportunity to visit with Sam and agency directors will be on Friday, February 4, at 8am via Zoom: https://centralriversaea.zoom.us/j/81908784702.

    Weather notifications
    With winter weather right around the corner, be sure you are signed up to receive Central Rivers AEA weather alerts via text, call, or email regarding office closings or professional learning cancellations. Staff members can contact Shirley Horak, Human Resources Coordinator for assistance on signing up.

    Holiday break – December 24-January 2
    Central Rivers AEA offices will be closed for the Christmas holiday break, beginning Friday, December 24. Offices will reopen on Monday, January 3. Don’t forget to change your voicemail greeting and schedule an “away” message to your email so that callers and/or e-mailers will know when they can expect to hear from you. Detailed instructions can be found in last month’s edition of The Channel. 

    The week of Christmas, office staff may dress a bit more casually (nice jeans, festive shirt/sweater), if desired.  Please keep in mind that your attire needs to be based on your role and responsibilities during that week.

  • News from the Business Office

    Iowa public money can’t pay for rooms at non-certified hotels
    We recently learned that any hotels we reserve for staff, beginning next month, need to have their employees trained in recognizing human trafficking. Below is the information received from the Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS).  Per the new Iowa Code section, 80.45A, effective January 1, 2022, for any public money to be used at a lodging provider, the lodging provider must certify with DPS that all of its employees have received approved human trafficking training. Further information is available at stophtiowa.org. A list of certified hotels is posted at stophtiowa.org/certified-locations. If rooms are already booked at hotels not on the list, DPS suggests calling the hotel to ensure it plans on becoming certified before the date of the stay. 

    Health Savings Account (HSA) Calendar Year Maximums
    The Health Savings Account (HSA) calendar-year limits are set for 2022.  Please email benefits@centralriversaea.org, if you would like to change your HSA contributions. We will create a life event on the Portal that will allow you to change your monthly contribution. 

    403b Calendar Year Contribution Maximum
    As we look forward to 2022, it’s a great time to review your retirement plan.  Employees contributing to a 403b will want to double check to make sure their contributions do not exceed the maximum contribution limit for 2022.   Please complete the salary reduction form found on the Portal > My Benefits > Retirement and submit to benefits@centralriversaea.org.

    If you don’t have a retirement account such as a Roth IRA or a pre-tax 403b account, maybe this is the year you consider saving a little extra for retirement.  (Note: Those of you on our $3,500 High Deductible Health Plan could consider maximizing contributions to a Health Savings Account as part of your retirement plan as well).

    Questions can be directed to Michael Kalvig, Chief Financial Officer or Pam Morrissey, Accounting Manager

  • Phishing email experiment update

    As we reported last month, the Information Technology (IT) department sent out “fake” emails to staff in an attempt to collect data on what specific phishing emails trip staff up the most so that we can develop future training.  The following slide presentation and video screencast contain the results of our experiment. Please view the preferred format below:

    If you have any questions regarding the experiment, please contact Sarah Nelson, Director IT/Special Programs.