The Channel

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!