The Channel

Effective immediately, staff can enroll for their 2015-16 benefits online in the IVisions self-service portal. All benefits-eligible employees must complete this process even if you are making no changes, declining insurance, resigning, or retiring .This is your only opportunity to make changes for the upcoming year without a life event.

Specific benefit details may be found in the IVisions portal under, My Benefits > Information Center. To choose your benefit coverage, select the My Benefits>Benefits Enrollment. Rates and previous year selections are shown as you make your new selections.

Please refer to the email you received on May 4th for details regarding plan changes. General questions may be directed to Human Resources. Please direct specific questions to Betty Beauregard, Benefits Specialist. The open enrollment period ends May 25.

AEA 267’s Board of Directors volunteer countless hours of their time each year to ensure that every Iowa student, family and educator served by our agency receives excellent service. Please join us in honoring our board members and consider sending a thank you note, email or making a phone call to one of the incredible AEA 267 Board of Directors. They deserve our appreciation!

The AEA 267 Board of Directors met Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at 6 pm in the Cedar Falls Conference Center. Prior to the meeting the board was recognized for their commitment and dedication to AEA 267 in honor of School Board Recognition Month. During the meeting, the board:

• Heard a program review regarding Special Education Compliance from Justin Stockdale, Special Education Coordinator (NW Sector) and Greg Koppes, Principal of Bremwood School.
• Approved the agreement with OneNeck for 2015-2017 for technology security.
• Approved the contract with CenturyLink for telephone service in Cedar Falls beginning July 1, 2015 through 2017.
• Approved the agreement with the University of Northern Iowa for the Cooperative Student Teaching/Practicum Program for 2015-16.
• Approved the Iowa AEA Resolutions.
• Approved the Assignment and Assumption Agreement with the Iowa AEA.
• Ratified the Collective Bargaining Contract for 2015-16 with the AEA 267 Education Association. This group received a 3.51% total package increase.
• Ratified the Collective Bargaining Contract for 2015-16 with the Communication Workers of America. This group received a 3% total package increase.
• Set the administrative and non-union support staff salaries and total package costs for 2015-16. Both of these groups received a 3% total package increase.
• Heard a variety of reports from directors and fellow board members.

Sam Miller

Area Education Agency 267 (AEA 267) is pleased to announce that Sam Miller, currently superintendent at Solon Community School District, has been selected as the agency’s new chief administrator.  Miller will succeed Dr. Roark Horn, who is leaving the agency to become Executive Director of School Administrators of Iowa (SAI), beginning July 1, 2015. Horn has led the agency since 2010. The board officially hired Miller at their regular meeting on Monday, April 6, 2015.

“We are extremely proud to offer the position to someone with the breadth and depth of experiences that Mr. Miller has,” said Dr. Debra Rich, AEA 267 board president. “Sam’s track record of exemplary leadership, along with his value for relationships and collaboration with stakeholders, are a perfect fit for AEA 267.”

Miller has previously held positions as Superintendent and Middle/High School Principal at Davis County Community School District in Bloomfield, Iowa; Vice Principal/Athletic Director at Knoxville High School, in Knoxville Iowa and Special Education Teacher at the Ottumwa Community School District. He has been with the Solon Community School District since 2010.

Miller earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in K-12 Physical Education from the University of Iowa; a Master of Arts degree in Special Education from Morningside College; a Master of Science degree in Educational Administration from Drake University; and an Educational Specialist degree in Educational Leadership from Drake University.  Miller is in the process of earning a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Northcentral University.

Please join us in welcoming Mr. Sam Miller to AEA 267!

Spring is just around the corner and the target date for open enrollment of benefits has been set for May 4. Please watch your email and announcements in the iVisions portal. All benefits-eligible employees must complete this process even if you are declining insurance, resigning or retiring.

Thank you to the 545 staff members who responded to the Des Moines Register Iowa’s Top 100 Workplaces survey. Recently, a sample of the results were shared with the AEA 267 Human Resources Office revealing the following:

Workplace statements asked on the survey were grouped around six factors including: “Alignment” (e.g. the agency is going in the right direction), “Execution” (doing things efficiently and well), “Connection” (feeling genuinely appreciated, reaching individual potential), “My Job” (training, expectations, flexibility, etc.), “My Manager” (cares about employees, helps me learn and grow, makes it easier to do my job, etc.); and “My Pay & Benefits”. The agency scored highest in the “My Manager” category. The lowest scored category was “Execution”.

Unfortunately, the company that administers the survey, Workplace Dynamics, has explained that in order for us to receive the full results, the agency would need to pay over $6,000 for even a basic report and over $17,000 for an expanded report. Given the fact that we already have data from our own internal continuous improvement survey, a decision was made not to spend the funds for the full results and to abandon our pursuit of the “Top 100 Workplaces” designation.

For many years, AEA 267 employees under the Master Contract between the AEA 267 Education Association and the Agency were issued contracts for the following year prior to the beginning of April even if negotiations between the Association and the Agency were not completed. The Agency was doing this in good faith so that employees would know their employment status. In discussions with the Association during the summer of 2013 it was brought to the Agency’s attention that this practice was in violation of Iowa State Code 279.13.

Iowa Code 279.13.1 states that contracts issued must contain the following information for them to be valid:

• They must be in writing;
• They must state the number of contract days;
• They must state the annual compensation to be paid;
• And, they must contain any other matters that are mutually agreed upon.

By issuing individual contracts that do not have the correct annual compensation, the Agency was violating the code. This became an issue when individuals attempting to be hired elsewhere were not released from their Agency contracts, preventing them from being hired by a new employer. The Association made the Agency aware that under 279.13.3 employees have 21 days from when they are issued a legal contract to either sign their new contracts or resign. Because the contracts that the Agency issued were in violation of the law they were not valid and therefore the Agency could not hold these individuals as it was within the 21 days from the date when the Association and the Agency came to agreement on the 2013-2014 Master Contract.

As was the case last year, the Agency has again this year agreed with the Association not to issue contracts until a settlement is reached for the 2015-2016 Master Contract. Under Iowa Code 279.15.1 the Agency must issue Reduction in Force (RIF)/Termination notices no later than April 30. Because “teacher” contracts continue, if you do not receive a RIF notice you will have a contract issued to you after the Association and the Agency settle the Master Contract.

Although issuing individual contracts after the Master Contract settlement is different from the past practice of the Agency, the Agency and the Association are working together to do what is best for the employees while also following the law. If you have any questions regarding this information please feel free to contact either Kathy Enslin or Jack Clement, ISEA Director (Hawkeye UniServ Unit).

Clarity is a service of Bright Bytes that all the AEA’s in Iowa offer to local school districts. It provides building and district-wide data regarding technology integration and implementation. The AEA system has been working closely with Clarity to design a survey for internal use with our own staff. Later this month we will ask AEA 267 staff to complete a 10-minute survey, which will give us insight into how we use technology with our educational partners, our level of access, current level of skill, and the environment including things such as agency policies.

The results of the survey will be reviewed with the intention of creating an action plan that will focus on identified needs and designing and implementing training and support to build our internal capacity.

Brent Siegrist

Submitted by Brent Siegrist, Iowa AEA Executive Director

A fortieth birthday is an important milestone in a person’s life. Amid the joke about approaching middle age is the comfort of being a little wiser than a person was just a decade ago. As Iowa’s Area Education Agencies reach this celebrated milestone we have the opportunity to reflect on the past four decades of service to Iowans.

Regional education in Iowa took a giant step forward in the spring of 1974 when Senate File 1163 transformed the jigsaw maze of 52 county or joint county school systems into 15 area education agencies with the same service areas as community colleges.  The AEAs, as they came to be called, began operating July 1, 1975.

This legislation erased the division and eased the discrepancies that existed between Iowa schools. Iowa’s AEAs collaborated to improve the education opportunities for our most valuable asset: our young people. Prior to that time, only about seven to eight percent of the handicapped children in the state had educational opportunities in their home communities. Similar discrepancies existed in general education classrooms: only 30% of the children in the state had access to current media materials, and the availability of resources varied greatly between Iowa’s schools urban, rural, large and small.

Today, due to voluntary mergers across the state, there are nine AEAs that are widely regarded as one of the finest intermediate service systems in the country, and we continue to evolve to ensure we’re meeting the educational needs of our next generation of leaders. The demands of today’s learners are much different than those that were acknowledged and supported 40 years ago.Today our specialized teams provide support and resources in the areas of autism, brain injury and crisis response. Children can access resources at their schools that were loaned from our lending libraries, ensuring educators and students have access to thousands of resources to support reading and hands-on learning.

We offer support through the Family Educator Connection, a free program promoting partnerships between families and schools in order to provide the best educational opportunities for children with special needs.  We are cooperative purchasing that saves schools 40-70 percent off list price on media equipment and materials, paper and art supplies. math, science, and numerous other content areas. We are an educator’s resource for professional development, offering courses for graduate credit or license renewal, both face-to-face and online.

Yes, a lot has changed in the 40 years that have passed since the inception of our organization, but today we celebrate each of these 14,600 days in which we’ve made a difference in the life of an Iowan. Our staff members are in lock-step with your local school administrators, teachers, counselors and librarians to ensure that Iowa’s learners have the most opportunity of any state in the nation. And we have no intention of slowing down now.

Brent Siegrist is the Executive Director of Iowa’s Area Education Agencies. He can be reached at bsiegrist@gwaea.org. Iowa’s Area Education Agencies work as partners with public and accredited, non-public schools in Iowa to help students, school staff, parents and communities meet educational challenges. The system was established in 1974 by the Iowa legislature.

Start planning now to attend the upcoming retirement open houses which will be held on May 12th in Cedar Falls, May 13th in Clear Lake, and May 14th in Marshalltown. All celebrations will be from 3:30-5 p.m. In keeping with tradition, the open houses will feature remarks from supervisors, retirees and a chance to socialize. Watch for next month’s issue of Intersections for the list of retirees.