Author: Beth Strike

Financial advisors tell us that if we depend solely on Social Security as a form of retirement income, we will not be able to maintain our current lifestyle. For many, it will be very difficult to even provide ourselves with the most basic necessities including food, shelter and healthcare.

As public employees in Iowa, we are also eligible for the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System (IPERS) that will also provide us with retirement income. IPERS serves many of our retirees well; however there is more that we can do to help ourselves be self-sufficient and enjoy our retirement years by saving through a 403b plan. An added benefit is that the money we have deducted from our paycheck and deposited into our 403b plan can be deducted pre-tax to lower our tax liability now.

Check out the Retirement Investors’ Club for some useful information on investing. Make sure you go directly to the site via the link provided above or via the Infinite Visions portal (My Benefits>Retirement>403b RIC State Website) to ensure you accessing the applicable information for educators.

Each year, the Business Office sends an annual notice with your W2 form. Here is the 2017 Annual Notice if you would like to review this document. If you haven’t taken time to review the notice, please consider doing so as it contains some important information on this topic.

2018 Contribution Limits: Contribution limits have increased for calendar year 2018. Additional RIC 403b plan contribution information is available at https://das.iowa.gov/RIC/403b/contributions.

Central Rivers AEA is discontinuing the use of Iowa School Alerts for weather-related announcements regarding office and professional learning cancellations. The new system, School Messenger, has additional options to make communication clearer while still giving recipients the option of receiving messages by specific region (Marshalltown, Clear Lake and Cedar Falls) via text and email. School Messenger also has the option for voice delivery of announcements.

In order to receive messages from School Messenger, recipients will need to actively sign up as we are not able to automatically roll over data from the old Iowa School Alerts system. Please use this Google form to provide us with your information and preferences which we will use to set up your account. Sign up will be open until November 6.

Please note that we will also be posting messages on the front page of our website if you prefer to receive announcements that way. We will, however, be discontinuing the agency announcements line.

Questions? Contact Beth Strike or Bryan Knecht

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the variety of Halloween gatherings that were held this past week. The costumes were epic! Winners of the costume contest were:

Check out a recap of all the costumes and have a few laughs! A special thank you to Tiffany Schmitt and Phil Hendricks for their efforts to pull the contest together as well as decorate Central Perk.

Wondering where internal postings for open agency job vacancies can be found? Look no further than the Infinite Visions portal. Once you log in, check out the top half of the home page for any current vacancies. Questions? Contact Robin Billerbeck.

Central Rivers AEA has recently unveiled an MTSS structure to meet the social, emotional, behavioral and mental health needs of students. This MTSS structure provides districts with research-based information on the necessary components to have universal, targeted and intensive supports in place. This powerpoint has been shared with superintendents and regional administrators to share the structure with others in their respective regions. Please watch for additional information or ask your regional administrator if you have questions.

Many thanks to Sarah Nelson for developing these easy-to-use instructions for creating a polished, branded email signature. Please take five minutes out of your day to follow the steps to update your signature!

Signature example:

To support a timely staff replacement selection process and assist in budget planning, the Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors have directed that an incentive be provided for Certified, NUSS or Administrative Staff who provide early notification of their intent to resign or retire at the end of the 2017-18 work year.

Commitments of separation by resignation or retirement at the end of the 2017-2018 work year submitted by Certified, NUSS, or Administrative Staff, and received in the Human Resources Office between October 2, 2017 and December 1, 2017, and accepted by the board no later than the regular meeting on December 6, 2017, will receive an early notification incentive payment of $1,500 to be payable June 30, 2018 subject to the employee fulfilling their individual employment contract obligations for the 2017-2018 work year. Retirees that separate prior to the end of the Central River’s AEA 2017-2018 calendar year, are not eligible for the early notification incentive. This incentive is not offered to Classified staff.

Now through December 31, eligible VSP® members get an extra $40 to spend on bebe®, Calvin Klein, Columbia, Dragon®, and Flexon® frames. No extra paperwork, no hassle, just incredible frames for VSP members with applicable plan benefits.

The Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors met Wednesday, November 1st in Marshalltown. The Board was very complimentary and appreciative of all the hard work that went into the renovations for the Marshalltown AEA office. Kudos to all involved! Official minutes of the meeting will be posted following approval on December 6.

To support a timely staff replacement selection process and assist in budget planning, the Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors have directed that an incentive be provided for Certified, NUSS or Administrative Staff who provide early notification of their intent to resign or retire at the end of the 2017-18 work year. The proposed incentive would be administered as follows:

Commitments of separation by resignation or retirement at the end of the 2017-2018 work year submitted by Certified, NUSS, or Administrative Staff, and received in the Human Resources Office between October 2, 2017 and December 1, 2017, and

accepted by the board no later than the regular meeting on December 6, 2017, will receive an early notification incentive payment of $1,500 to be payable June 30, 2018 subject to the employee fulfilling their individual employment contract obligations for the 2017-2018 work year. Retirees that separate prior to the end of the Central River’s

AEA 2017-2018 calendar year, are not eligible for the early notification incentive. This incentive is not offered to Classified staff.

By Sarah Nelson, Technology Services Coordinator

Google Voice is a free service that provides you with a phone number you can use to make and receive calls, send text messages, customize your voicemail, read voicemail text transcripts, and more.

Why should I use Google Voice?

You may prefer not to give out your personal phone number to LEAs, parents, or colleagues. Instead, you can use your Google Voice number to protect the privacy of your real phone number. When people call your Google Voice number, the call will get forwarded to you, thus keeping your real number private. You can decide which one of your phones rings, or does not ring, whenever anyone calls that number. For example, when a parent calls, you may only want your office phone to ring. However, if a colleague calls, you may want your cell phone and office phone to ring.

What happens if someone calls my Google Voice number and leaves me a voicemail? Whenever you receive a voicemail, the message goes directly to your Gmail inbox. Even better, the voicemail will be transcribed into text.

What happens to my Google Voice number if I change cell phone provider?

Since your Google Voice number is not attached to a SIM card on your cell phone, it remains yours, even if you switch providers, move states, or change your home phone number.

Are there any additional Google Voice features I should know about?

(1) You can set up your Google Voice account so incoming text messages go to your Gmail inbox as an email message, in addition to being sent to your phone. When you reply to the email text message, it will convert back to a text message and send to your correspondent. (2) You can hold conference calls with more than two participants on Google Voice. (3) Google Voice can ring up to six phones at a time.

How do I get started using Google Voice?

To get started, go to: https://voice.google.com/u/0/about. If you need assistance, please contact Cari Teske (Marshalltown), Kay Schmalen (Clear Lake), or Sarah Nelson (Cedar Falls).

Do you need business cards? Check out the ordering form available on the staff website! The new form makes ordering quick and easy.

Bravo Sports Marketing is offering discounted tickets to select Iowa Hawkeyes football games. Tickets are available to employees in any AEA and this was offered at NO cost to the AEA system. Tickets are no longer available from Bravo at the discounted price for Iowa State tickets. 

Iowa Hawkeye ticket link: https://bravosportsmarketing.com/product/aea-iowa-tickets/

 

 

Staff members are invited to participate in Halloween festivities on Tuesday October 31.  Wear your best work-appropriate costume to participate in the Central Rivers AEA Halloween costume contest!   Staff are also encouraged to bring a snack to contribute to the Halloween-themed snack bar that will be available to all staff and visitors in Central Perk.  

If you would like to participate in the costume contest, please notify either Phil Hendricks or Tiffany Schmitt and they’ll add your name to the ballot.  Not in the Cedar Falls office?…no worries!  We would like all offices to participate!  Anyone in the Clear Lake or Marshalltown Office can email a picture of yourself in costume on Halloween morning to either Phil Hendricks or Tiffany Schmitt to enter yourself into the agency-wide competition!  Once the ballot is assembled, staff will have the opportunity to vote for best costume.

There will be a brief gathering in Central Perk at 2:00pm to socialize and reveal the winner of the costume contest!  Winner gets a prize!  Unleash your inner child and bring your “A” game for this fun and competitive activity!  

This month’s wellness tip (formerly Benefits’ Brief) focuses on protecting yourself and others during cold and flu season. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends three important steps to take to protect against both colds and influenza:

1. Get a flu shot
2. Practice frequent and thorough handwashing
3. Avoid contact with sick people and limit contact with others if you are ill

The agency recently held a flu vaccine clinic at all three office locations but it is not too late to get the flu shot. The CDC recommends everyone who is six months of age and older getting vaccinated by the end of October, if possible. While you can always visit your healthcare provider, many local businesses also offer the vaccine.

One of the best and simplest defenses against colds and influenza is frequent and thorough handwashing. This one simple habit can stop the spread of viruses and protect ourselves, family, and co-workers. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Don’t forget to disinfect all objects and hard surfaces that may be contaminated

Avoiding contact with sick people is not always possible but if you are ill with flu-like symptoms, stay home for at least 24 hours after a fever has gone. Seek medical treatment if your symptoms suddenly worsen as influenza can lead to dangerous health complications.

Those with compromised immune systems or conditions like asthma are especially at risk and should contact a physician immediately if displaying symptoms of influenza. Antiviral drugs can be prescribed to lessen the side effects and work best for treatment when they are started within two days of a viral illness.