The Channel

Spring has sprung and the Climate & Culture Committee have planned a couple of fun ways to celebrate!

Texas Roadhouse in Cedar Falls generously donated a gift basket valued at over $30 for one lucky staff member to win. All staff are eligible to enter the drawing. Just drop your name in the basket at the front desk of the Cedar Falls office or email Kathy Barfels (kbarfels@centralriversaea.org) to put your name in for you. The deadline to enter is April 17 and the winner will be drawn and announced on April 18.

On Monday, April 22 everyone is invited to join in the fun of an outdoor Easter egg hunt in the Cedar Falls office. Those wishing to participate should gather in Central Perk at 2 p.m. for instructions before kicking off the hunt. Collect as many plastic eggs as you can find for a chance to win prizes! In the event of bad weather or muddy conditions, the egg hunt will be relocated indoors.

Almost 150 staff members signed up for the option to earn an extra $5 gift card for completing their New Year’s Resolution and of those a whopping 123 completed their resolution! Those who did not complete their resolution held up their end of the bargain and donated $5 to a cause of their choice.  

The following organizations received their donations: church & youth missions, Alternatives, American Heart Association, Children’s Discovery Center, Corey Brown ARL fund, food pantries, humane societies, MDA, National Wildlife Federation, Quota International, Special Olympics, Student Connection, Fire Departments, UNI Dance Marathon, and the Waterloo Hospitality House.

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in this activity – it’s great to see how even one small donation can make a huge difference in the communities we live and work in!

The Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors met on Monday, April 1 with the three area community colleges. Board agendas and minutes can be found online.

The Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors wishes to thank everyone who went above and beyond to help the staff of Lowell Elementary transition to their temporary home in our former location. As a board, we were extremely proud of the rapid and compassionate response provided by those involved. Your efforts exemplified everything that our agency stands for including an unwavering commitment to students.  

Dr. Debra Rich, President, Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors

What are you grateful for? Staff and visitors to our Clear Lake office shared their thoughts on the bathroom mirror via sticky note! How is your office “owning it” these days? Send your pictures to Beth Strike or Karl Kurt.

The purpose of the Central Rivers AEA website is to provide a dynamic forum of communication designed to educate and inform the communities and school districts about AEA programs, services, events, and other general information relating to the AEA or its school districts. Most Central Rivers AEA programs & services are represented by official web pages developed using the official agency WordPress content management system.

To this purpose, an online module has been created by the AEA technology integrationists to help learn more about WordPress and website accessibility. This online module is a requirement to complete for those who currently author pages or plan to in the future.  

Individuals or teams who have a presence on Central Rivers AEA website should take some time to review the pages they are responsible for and ensure information is current and accurate. To access the online module, look under Technology Support>WordPress Module on the staff website!

Questions? Please contact Beth Strike, Phil Hendricks or Kay Schmalen. 

The Climate & Culture Committee is once again having the March Madness Yahoo Tourney Pick’em Pool. The link to create your account, if you do not have one from last year will be in the Portal next week.  You can make and change to your picks as often as you like, but your final bracket must be submitted before tipoff of the first game on Thursday, March 21, 2019. Only one entry per person and the grand prize is bragging rights with prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awarded.  

In addition to March Madness, the Committee would like to extend an invitation to all staff to wear their favorite team colors or attire as appropriate for your position on Friday, March 29.   

Back in December, you were asked to create a New Year’s resolution and keep it until after Valentine’s Day.  If you completed the resolution you would be able to select a $5 gift card. If you didn’t complete the resolution you promised to donate $5 to a charity of your choice. Please submit the results of your New Year’s resolution by March 15!

Just a friendly reminder that representatives from the Iowa Public Employee Retirement System (IPERS) will be stationed at the Cedar Falls office in the Central Perk area, on Monday, March 25 through Thursday, March 28 for individual IPERS counseling sessions.

To register call 1-800-622-3849 and have your member ID, spouse’s date of birth (if married), and up to three potential retirement dates ready for the benefits officer. You can always schedule an appointment in Des Moines by calling 1-800-622-3849. More information can be found on the IPERS website.

The Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors met on Wednesday, February 27. This meeting took the place of their regular March meeting that had been scheduled for March 6, 2019. Board agendas and minutes can be found online.

The agency will be seeking an Executive Director of Media/Technology to begin July 1, 2019. This position will oversee media services including the lending library and van delivery along with technology integration and infrastructure. (The Creative Services department is not included in the responsibilities.) This is a cabinet level position.

Why now? Since Dr. Jerry Schnabel retired well over a year ago, media and technology responsibilities have been overseen by Karl Kurt. Karl also supervises maintenance and human resources, creating a challenging job for one person. While Karl has done an excellent job, it was felt that media and technology should be led separately.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Sam Miller or any member of Ad Cabinet should you have questions. Don’t hesitate to encourage quality candidates to apply!

The Human Resources and Business offices are currently reviewing our health insurance program (including this year’s redesign) and seeking employee input to plan for next year. Your input is very important in this process! Please take a few minutes to complete this quick six question survey. Questions? Contact Karl Kurt or Michael Kalvig. The deadline for responding is February 15, 2019.

By now you should have received your W2 and 1095 forms which were mailed on January 31.

There have been a few questions on Part III of the 1095 form that may need clarification. Please note that the lower portion (Part III) of the 1095 form should NOT have the boxes for January through June marked because Central Rivers AEA was not “self-insured” during those months and therefore does not report on January through June. You should receive a 1095 from Wellmark with the January through June months marked in the lower portion.  Please contact Betty Hesseling (Beauregard) or Michael Kalvig if you have any questions.

As a service to staff, representatives from the Iowa Public Employee Retirement System (IPERS) will be stationed at the Cedar Falls office, 1521 Technology Pkwy, Central Perk area, on Monday, March 25 through Thursday, March 28 for individual IPERS counseling sessions.

Who should register for an appointment?  

Anyone nearing retirement with questions on their IPERS accounts.

How to register:  

• Call 1-800-622-3849. Please have your member ID, spouse’s date of birth (if married), and up to three potential retirement dates ready for the benefits officer when you call.
• IPERS will send out estimates prior to your appointment.
• Please review the estimates and bring your questions to the meeting.
• Appointments are scheduled for 30 minutes and are by appointment only.
• Don’t wait…call today…time slots fill up fast!
• Please refer to the IPERS website for additional information. You can always schedule an appointment in Des Moines by calling 1-800-622-3849.

With the unusual number of recent school closings due to weather, this is a good time to review the inclement weather and emergency closing information, which can be found on the staff website under Resources. Be sure to read through the weather FAQs as several different scenarios are addressed.

Remember that for those serving local school buildings directly, our priority is to be in schools and calendar adjustments need to be submitted to your supervisor in a timely manner.

Please keep in touch with your supervisor when weather-related issues arise and share any questions that may come up.

Mark your calendars! The 2019-20 all-staff meeting will be held on August 13 in Cedar Falls! Watch for details on the day in upcoming issues of The Channel.

The second round of the “OWN It” Bingo Challenge is off to a fantastic start with almost 350 staff members getting a Bingo! The deadline to submit February’s Bingo is Thursday, February 28. Let’s keep up the great work!

The Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors met on Wednesday, February 6 for a public hearing on the proposed budget for FY 2019-20 followed by their regular monthly meeting. The agenda is available online a minimum of 24 hours prior to each meeting and the minutes are available after board approval.