Author: Beth Strike

Last night, the Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors approved our recommended negotiation agreements, and we wanted to take the opportunity to share the information with you.

Given the fact that we are in a solid financial position and our cash on hand has increased the past few years, we reopened our previously agreed settlements to be a little more aggressive with our settlement. It is our hope that the change is received positively, and helps underscore our desire to provide raises and insurance benefits while maintaining our staffing levels and a balanced budget.  

Specifically, we were settled this year at 1.5%, but based on our current budget, strong solvency rate of 14%, and State Supplemental Aid (SSA) set higher than anticipated at 2.4%, we increased our settlement agreements.  We were able to achieve a salary raise and cover the premium increase for our single $2500 insurance plan.

Salary Information for 2021-22 (Total Package) 

Classified = 4.55% — .25 per hour to base wages

Certified = 3.08% — $360 to base salary

NUSS = 3.08%

Administration = 3.08%

Estimated New Money (2.4% SSA) = $360,000
Group	Total Package (%)	Total Increase ($) *As of 2/15/20
Certified ($360 base)	3.08%	$1,033,493
NUSS	3.08%	$91,291
Admin	3.08%	$133,304
CWA ($.25/hr)	4.55%	$156,478
Total Cost (All Funds)		$1,414,566

Insurance Information for 2021-22 

Our preliminary insurance renewal rate currently sits at a 16% increase. This is a large increase and impacts the amount of funds we are able to allocate to salary. The increase is due to our use and some of our larger claims. Of course, we wish this was not the case, but it is just our reality. The renewal rate would have been even higher if we were not self-funded.

Salary Information for 2022-23 — Total Package = 1.0% for all groups.

Into the future…

We continue to appreciate multi-year agreements that put us in a position to get our contracts out as soon as possible. Recently, we have been in a pattern of increasing our agreed upon settlement, based on our financial condition. We have tried to be aggressive the first year of the settlement, and continue to drop the percentage for the second year of the settlement. This allows us to be as aggressive as possible in the short-term, but provides a more conservative settlement should we need it for the subsequent year. Our desire is not to be in a position to have to use the lower settlement amount, but we are prepared if something out of our control impacts our financial picture.

We want to thank everyone for all their efforts, flexibility, and positive attitude this year. We hope that our efforts throughout this year have provided evidence that we value and support you personally and professionally. 

Please let us know if you have any specific questions, comments or concerns! 

Karl Kurt, Assistant Chief Administrator/Director of Human Resources

Michael Kalvig, Chief Financial Officer

 

Central Rivers AEA recently updated the Emergency Procedures Manual which includes a series of procedures to follow in various emergency situations and cases of illness or injury. The manual also lists specific emergency information for each office location including contact information for the first responders and locations of first aid supplies and equipment. 

Spiral bound copies will be available at each office and Rivers Hills School. The manual can be downloaded/viewed on the staff website under Resources > Emergency Procedures & Crisis Response Team Manual. 

Please contact Human Resources if you have any questions or concerns. 

Wellness is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a healthy and fulfilling life. Wellness is more than being free from illness, it is a dynamic process of change and growth. It is a process of achieving a state of physical, mental, and social well-being.

Please, join us in helping you to make your wellness a priority! We made adjustments to this year’s program, and we hope the ease of use makes it painless to complete and submit your accomplishments.

Staff will have the opportunity to earn $200 (maximum) in wellness dollars for the 2020-21. The payout date will be June 18, 2021.

 Activities have been divided into five categories;

1. Financial Well-Being
2. Nutritional Well-Being
3. Physical Well-Being
4. Emotional Well-Being
5. Social Well-Being.

Ready to check it out? Each activity is worth $10.00. When you complete an activity, just enter in the date and mark complete and you will also earn the badge that’s attached to the activity. Earned badges will show on the top right of your screen so you’ll be able to visually see your efforts. The more badges you earn, the easier they will be to find!

Please join us in recognizing staff for their many years of service to children, families and educators. Staff members receiving recognition this month include those who have reached the major milestone of 45 and 35 years of service!

Contact Manager is a tool created to allow staff to send email messages for targeted groups of educators. The system uses data collected and housed in the Central Rivers AEA Lending Library system (Medianet). This is a great tool for promoting your professional learning opportunities or meetings that are targeted toward specific audiences.

How do I use Contact Manager?

1. Go to: http://contactmanager.centralriversaea.org
2. If you are not signed in, click the “Sign in with Google” Button and follow the prompts to sign in through Google.
3. Click “Search Contacts” to begin.
4. Select the criteria from the options on the page to narrow your search from all the educators our agency serves to only those in your desired group.
5. Click the “search” button at the bottom of the page.
6. Select individuals or all the members of this group to email (create labels for and/or export into a spreadsheet) by using the check boxes next to each name.
7. Then, click your desired action at the bottom of the page (Email Selected Contacts, Export Selected Contacts, Generate Labels).
8. Follow the steps on screen to finish!

Who do I contact for help?

• Beth Strike, Director of Communications & Creative Services
• Kristine Kienzle, Technical Support Manager for Media

Note: These directions are archived on the Staff Website>Communications>Contact Manager for future reference.

A few years ago, the agency unveiled a new blog called The Stream targeted specifically to region staff. The Stream is published on an as-needed basis by Regional Administrators and strives to provide news and information that staff out in the field need to best serve schools. Please don’t confuse The Stream with this publication, The Channel, which goes out monthly to all Central Rivers AEA staff members and shares more general agency-wide news and information. Both blogs serve a unique purpose and are important to review upon receipt in your in-box. You can find a live link, including archived information, to each publication on our staff website.

Want more information on the variety of ways the agency communicates? Check out this Agency Major Communication Channels doc to learn more about all our tools and how they are used to share news and information about Central Rivers AEA.

Beginning September 1st, employers are given the option of implementing an executive order, issued by President Trump, that would defer the tax (6.2%) employees pay toward Social Security through December 31st.  As of this writing, this is only a deferral of the tax — NOT forgiveness of the tax owed. Congress would need to act to forgive or eliminate this Social Security tax.  Taxes would be owed and paid January through April.

Due to the fact that the tax is only deferred and the tax would still be collected, Central Rivers AEA has chosen NOT to implement this executive order, unless Congress takes formal action to forgive the tax.  We feel it is in the best interest of our employees to continue the normal tax withholdings and avoid a greater tax burden on employees at the beginning of 2021.  Please reach out to Michael Kalvig if you have any questions.

The Educational Directory for 2020-21 has been updated and can be viewed on the agency website under the About section. In addition, a downloadable pdf of the directory can be found on the resources page of the staff website. If you would like to have a printed copy, please contact your region’s administrative assistant.

Join thousands of other Iowans statewide and support Iowa’s Healthiest State Initiative by getting out and walking on October 7, 2020, for 30 minutes. Iowa’s 10th Annual Walk serves as a kick-off to Healthiest State Month, happening throughout October, celebrating healthy habits all month long. 

Walking is not only good for our physical health but can do wonders for our mental & emotional health!  Sign up under “Central Rivers AEA”, let’s see how many staff we can get.