Author: Beth Strike

Have a question or issue with using your new phone features in Zoom? Not sure how or why you are getting phone calls when you are on a Zoom or presenting?  Unsure how to access your voicemail or even where to start? We will be hosting Zoom support office hours with Kay Schmalen where you can drop in and together we can support you and help you with your questions.  Come once, come twice, come as many times as you need to feel comfortable. Join at one or more of the following dates/times and come and go anytime within the time frame.  

• Friday, February 7,  8am-9am Zoom Link- https://zoom.us/j/420035303
• Wednesday, February 19,  8am-9am- Zoom Link-https://zoom.us/j/608247725
• Monday, February 24,  8am-9am Zoom Link – https://zoom.us/j/838240809
• Tuesday, February 25,  Noon- 3pm Zoom Link – https://zoom.us/j/155266013
• Wednesday, February 26,  9am-12pm Zoom Link – https://zoom.us/j/487709136

Please contact Kay Schmalen or Jeremiah Lehr if you have additional questions. 

Please note: We will be transitioning the phone systems in the Cedar Falls Office and River Hills School over to Zoom on February 15 & 16. Those affected have received a direct communication regarding training.

Do you know someone who has made outstanding contributions to education and Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs)? Please take a few minutes to nominate this person for recognition!

Iowa’s AEAs bestow three awards annually to outstanding candidates for their contributions to education and the work of Iowa’s AEAs. To submit a nomination, complete this application by Feb. 14, 2020. Anyone is welcome to submit a nomination.

Awards will be presented during the annual Iowa’s AEAs Boards of Directors’ Conference and the ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m. on March 26, 2020 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Johnston.

The three awards and criteria can be found below. Each nomination should include examples of why your nominee should receive the award.

Friend of the AEA Award

Acknowledges contributions by policymakers, citizens, board members, school district partners, businesses and organizations who have been great partners and demonstrate strong support for furthering the mission of Iowa’s AEAs. Open to all policymakers, citizens, board members, school district partners, businesses and organizations.

E. Robert Stephens Award

Dr. E. Robert Stephens, better known as “Dr. Bob” and the father of Iowa’s AEAs, acknowledges contributions in the area of innovation and support to local districts, AEAs, the Department of Education and other partners/organizations. There should be evidence of outstanding contributions to the well-being of the educational community including:

• Benefits of this individual’s leadership;
• Creative leadership in inspiring and motivating others to achieve and contribute;
• Strong commitment to the profession by active participation in professional activities; and
• Evidence that the individual is respected by his/her colleagues and the community.

Open to AEA staff who serve in an administrative role and AEA board members.

Innovative Creator

Celebrates amazingly innovative and creative thinking and actions to get results for students, educators, Iowa’s AEAs, school districts and other partners. Open to all AEA staff, board members, educators, policymakers, students…we are all creators!

For more information, contact Connie Johnson, Iowa’s AEAs Communications Director, at (712) 335-6044 or cjohnson@plaea.org.

 

W-2s for calendar year 2019 were mailed to your home during the week of January 27, 2020.  If you need another copy, please visit the IVisions portal under My Compensation and download the form. Questions should be directed to Shane Wolf at swolf@centralriversaea.org or 319/273-8203.

To celebrate the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day, the Culture and Climate Committee is sponsoring Foodie February at each office location.  During the month of February, we will be collecting canned soup, peanut butter, jelly, and crackers. (NOTE: Please make sure donations are in-date.) 

Donations will be given to each local food bank and drop-off locations at each office are:

• Cedar Falls, lower level by the water fountain – contact Robin Billerbeck, Ashley Samek, or Barb Schroeder
• Clear Lake – contact Donna Perry or Laura Rinnels
• Marshalltown – contact Carolyn Wanatee
• River Hills School – contact Kathy Williams

To add to the fun, each office is challenged to display their donations in some form of football theme! Photos will be shared in March’s edition of The Channel. The best display will win bragging rights!

Wellmark offers insured employees the opportunity to enroll in their Blue365 program and during the month of February you can join Fitness Your Way and have the $29 enrollment fee waived.  You’ll pay just $29 a month for access to their network of over 10,000 gyms and with Fitness Your Way, you are not limited to just one facility and can workout at multiple participating gyms.

Wellmark Blue365 can be accessed through the Portal > My Benefits > 2019-20 Insurance Information > Wellmark > Wellmark.com. Login to an existing account or register for a new account. You will need your insurance ID number to create an account. Once in your personal account, click on Well-Being > Visit Blue365 (under Member Discounts).

There you will find great deals on a variety of benefits for members. Fitness Your Way is located under the Fitness tab.

Please contact Betty Hesseling at 319-273-8202 if you have questions or need assistance setting up your Blue365 account.

The CRAEA Board recently approved moving to a new phone system with Zoom.  Our current phone systems located at each office will be phased out by March 2020.  If you will be impacted by this change, you will be contacted via email from Zoom when your phone number has been established.  Below are scheduled training and telephone system cutover dates for each region. As we move forward migrating each region we will be sending out communication via email and The Channel with detailed instructions.

The dates and locations for training are as follows:

Clear Lake: December 19th

Marshalltown: January 14th

Cedar Falls: February 17th

River Hills: February 17th

Questions? Contact Bryan Knecht.

In November, Central Rivers AEA hosted a Zoom “Lunch and Learn” meeting with an IPERS representative who did a great  job of reviewing important information for those interested in starting the discussion around retirement. (You can view the PowerPoint here)

We know that IPERS is a “defined benefit” plan and retirement income is determined by a formula based on your years of service and salary earned.  Although, IPERS is an excellent plan, it is often unable to meet the level of income that you receive as a full-time employee. 

One key action you can take to improve your financial future is by taking additional steps to save for your retirement.  A Voluntary Retirement Savings Plan (VRSP) allows you to save additional before-tax and/or after-tax money for retirement. Central Rivers AEA offers a 403b voluntary retirement savings plan through the State of Iowa Retirement Investors Club.  The salary reduction form and more information can also be found on in the iVisions portal.  

Before tax: By participating in a VRSP with before-tax contributions (i.e. 403b), you lower your federal and state taxable wages, but not Social Security or Medicare taxable wages. The contributions and any earnings become taxable when a qualified withdrawal is made in retirement.  

After tax: By participating in a VRSP with after-tax contributions (i.e. Roth), you won’t lower your federal and state taxable wages, but qualified withdrawals will not be taxable in retirement and any earnings are tax-free.

In an effort to be fully financially prepared for retirement, we encourage all of our staff to go beyond IPERS, and contribute to a secondary retirement vehicle (i.e., 403B, IRA).

Please let the HR/Business Office know if we can assist you in any way.

(Disclaimer: The content above is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.)

Effective January 1, 2020, the contribution limits for Health Savings Accounts (HSA) are increasing as outlined in the table below:

Health Savings Account Contribution Limits
HSA contribution limit	2020	2019
Individual	$3,550	$3,500
Family	$7,100	$7,000
HSA catch-up contributions (age 55 or older)*	$1,000	$1,000
*Catch-up contributions can be made during the year by HSA-eligible participants who will turn 55 by the end of the year

Take advantage of this pre-tax benefit and save for future medical expenses or your retirement. You may change your contribution to your health savings account at any time during the year by contacting Betty Hesseling.

The Iowa Retirement Investors’ Club (RIC) is our voluntary retirement savings program that allows you to set aside a portion of your salary for use as income in retirement. Through automatic salary reductions, you choose how much to save per paycheck up to the IRS maximum annual limits.  Complete the RIC 403b Salary Reduction Form to enroll or contact Betty Hesseling for more information.

IRS 403b maximum contribution limits are:

Year	Regular	Age 50+	15-Year Catch-Up	Total Employee	Total EE & ER
2020	$19,500	$26,000	$22,500	$ 29,000	$57,000
2019	$ 19,000	$25,000	$22,000	$28,000	$56,000

Existing participants – You may make changes to the amount of your contributions at any time by completing the RIC 403b Salary Reduction Form and submitting it as instructed on the form.

New to RIC? Check out the great benefits and find out how to enroll by visiting the RIC website.

At roughly the half-way point, a preliminary report has been generated and to date, the agency will be paying out over $40,000 to staff who have completed challenges through December 29, 2019.

Anyone who has earned incentive dollars will automatically receive a separate electronic direct deposit on January 23, 2020.  It’s also a great time to start thinking about your New Year’s Resolution and your dedication to earn more money.

Remember to log your final entries for any ongoing challenges into the Navigate system by December 29, 2019.  

Fiducius provides relief to agency employees to improve their student loan situation. Click on this flyer for additional information to learn more about your potential savings options! 

Please change your voicemail greeting and set an away message to your email during the holiday breaks so that callers and/or e-mailers will know when they can expect to hear from you.

Voicemail example:

“Hello, this is (your name). Our office will be closed beginning Monday, December 23 and will reopen on Thursday, January 2. Please leave your name, telephone number and a detailed message and I will call when I return. Thank you and happy holidays from all of us at Central Rivers AEA.”

Email “away” message example:

“Thank you for your email. I will be out of the office beginning Monday, December 23 through January 2 and will respond to your email upon my return. Thank you and have a wonderful holiday!”

If you need assistance with either task, please visit with your supervisor or administrator.

Are you involved in a Navigate wellness initiative such as Charmed by Charity? The Channel is the place to share what you are doing and invite others to help! Check out what Rhonda Gleason in Creative Services was able to accomplish with the help of others in the agency as part of her Navigate challenge. Rhonda coordinated a food drive to benefit the House of Hope in Waterloo.

Get ready for the next team challenge getting kicked off soon! Sign-up for “Healthy U” is already underway and is bound to keep everyone on track with healthy eating and habits through the holiday season!  

Holiday giving opportunities

The Cedar Falls, Clear Lake and Marshalltown offices will once again be sponsoring a holiday giving event in December.

• The Cedar Falls office will be adopting four families from the Boys and Girls Club in the Cedar Valley once again this year.
• The Clear Lake office will be honoring the charitable contributions and actions of staff by having staff identify at the December 19 meeting which charity they have contributed to and what town.
• The Marshalltown office will be sharing a food advent calendar with staff to collect canned goods to give to the local food bank.

Watch for more details with specifics on these great events to help those in need this holiday season.

Contacts:

Cedar Falls Office – Barb Schroeder bschroeder@centralriversaea.org

Clear Lake Office – Laura Rinnels lrinnels@centralriversaea.org

Marshalltown Office – Carolyn Wanatee cwanatee@centralriversaea.org

One Sock at a Time

Wear your crazy socks for a $2 donation to the Northern Lights Alliance for the Homeless in Mason City, Iowa. Northern Lights Alliance for the Homeless has been in operation since 1999 and have increased the program from helping men to now helping women and their children, families and veterans. Donation buckets will be available at each location.

Details can be found on this flyer!

Fun with Frosty event

Central Rivers AEA has committed to serving our community during the holiday season by supporting the Boys and Girls Club “Fun with Frosty” event. This event will take place on Tuesday, December 17 from 4:30-6:30 at the Boys and Girls Club (515 Lime Street, Waterloo). 

Volunteers will help serve dinner and assist with crafts and games. We need 12-15 volunteers who will commit to helping make this event a wonderful night for the kids. Sign up by Monday, November 25. Contact Lori Thomas (lthomas@centralriversaea. org) with any questions. 

Do you have four minutes? Check out the latest edition of Agency Update to learn more about a new challenge being launched through Navigate as well as agency supports for mental health.

 

Resource: Employee Assistance Program details

 

Do you ever wonder how your other Central Rivers AEA co-workers spend their work life? On the Job @ Central Rivers AEA is a monthly series we’ve just launched to give you a peek into the work of others in the agency. Each month, Chief Administrator, Sam Miller, will spend time with a Central Rivers AEA employee and learn more about the work involved in their position. These highlight videos will also be shared on our website and social media sites to help educate the public about the work of an AEA.

This month? Angie Dickey and the crew in Media.