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Thursday, August 29, 2013

Changes in Your Retirement

August 29, 2013

ISTA Members,

Between ISTA's initial notification and recent local news coverage, we trust you have become aware of two changes the Indiana Public Employee Retirement System (INPRS) recently adopted and made effective July 1, 2014:
  1. A change in the long-term interest rate assumption (from 7.5% to 6.75%); and
  2. A change in how a member's Annuity Savings Account (ASA) funds will be annuitized (which will impact the overall monthly retirement benefit if a member had planned to have INPRS annuitize ASA funds and then combine them with his or her pension).
ISTA is working to rescind or amend the change described in (2) concerning the annuitization of PERF and TRF member ASA funds. As you can imagine, explaining the issue and the possible fixes can become detailed. In an effort to simplify the issues, please review the attached document which takes the format of using INPRS' FAQ responses with added ISTA commentary.

Please know that ISTA will continue to keep you informed about this important issue.

INPRS FAQ's.pdf

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

ISTA Responds to Announcement of Governor Pence’s Creation of Education Agency


NEWS RELEASE


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE






August 23, 2013
For more information, contact:
Kathleen Berry Graham
317 263 3321
kberry@ista-in.org


ISTA Responds to Announcement of Governor Pence’s
Creation of Education Agency

INDIANAPOLIS—In a surprise power grab today, Gov. Mike Pence released information that he has created a new agency called the Center for Education and Career Innovation (CECI).

Pence claims that the Center will improve collaboration among Indiana’s public, private and non-profit education and workforce partners by aligning education and career and workforce training efforts. The governor’s release states that: “The agency will proactively engage and collaborate with a number of valuable partners in state government including the Department of Education, the Indiana Charter School Board, the Department of Workforce Development, the Commission for Higher Education and the Office of State-Based Initiatives. The Indiana Career Council, the Indiana Works Councils, the Education Roundtable and the State Board of Education, though functioning independently, will exist as part of the new agency.” Yet the Indiana Department of Education was not contacted by the governor about creation of the agency even though the agency appears to be absorbing various functions of the IDOE and thereby reducing the authority of newly elected Superintendent of Public Instruction, Glenda Ritz.

Following Pence’s announcement, a news release from the IDOE said: “Partnerships require communication. Unfortunately, Superintendent Ritz learned about the creation of this new agency—the impact on taxpayers yet unknown—through news reports, rather than from Gov. Pence. Superintendent Ritz has met with the governor on many occasions, including as recently as two days ago. However, neither he, nor his office, mentioned the creation of this new agency until this morning.”

“Like Superintendent Ritz, ISTA was dismayed by the announcement of this agency today,” said ISTA President Teresa Meredith. “We already have in place a Department of Education that works. ISTA is disappointed that the governor would choose to disregard the input of Superintendent Ritz and thousands of public school professionals.

“We are all in this together. Last November many of our members and the voters of the state voted for a change in direction for education and 1.3 million Hoosiers said that they trusted Glenda Ritz to run the Department of Education,” said Meredith. “And while teachers are always aware of the lessons they model for children, evidently some governors and their political appointees are not.”

For the full release from Gov. Pence’s office, go to:
http://www.in.gov/activecalendar/EventList.aspx?view=EventDetails&eventidn=121572&information_id=187047&type=&rss=rss

For the full release from Superintendent Ritz, go to:
http://www.doe.in.gov/news/statement-indiana-department-education-response-governor-pence’s-announcement

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Monday, August 26, 2013

Ratification Meeting August 27, 2013

FWEA/FWCS CONTRACT RATIFICATION MEETING


AUGUST 27, 2013 @ 4:30 P.M.


ANTHIS AUDITORIUM


VOTING WILL TAKE PLACE UNTIL 7:30 P.M.


This meeting is open to ALL FWCS TEACHERS

Please note: Only FWEA members will be allowed to vote. Please bring your FWCS School ID to be sign in and be admitted into the meeting. Only FWEA members will receive ballots after signing in.



Per Indiana Law the only items that are

bargainable are WAGES & BENEFITS!!


Your FWEA Bargaining Team: Angela Miller, ISTA UniServ Director; Al Jacquay II, FWEA President; Julie Hyndman, Lincoln Elementary; Matt Mertes, North Side HS; Kim Hunter, Special Education; Marlena Mulligan, Lincoln Elementary; Karen Bradbury, Arlington Elementary; Sonia Henderson, Blackhawk MS; Tia Buchs, South Wayne Elementary


Click here to download a printable copy of this flyer.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

ISTA Settlement


August 13, 2013

You might have heard or read in the media today that a settlement has been reached with the Indiana Securities Commissioner and the Indiana school districts who participated in the I.S.T.A. Insurance Trust (Trust). When finalized, this settlement, the Naylor Case, resolves the last of the litigation over the failure of the Trust, which provided health and other insurance products to a small number of Indiana school districts.

Despite what you might read or see in the media, NO ISTA or NEA monies were used to fund this settlement . Since 2009 there has been an array of litigation over the failure of the Trust, including litigation brought by ISTA and NEA on behalf of the Trust, to recover from those individuals and entities whose conduct caused that failure. That litigation generated settlements from those individuals and entities. Only funds from those settlements were used to settle the Naylor case.

Please share this information with your members, and in particular share the fact that ISTA and NEA member dues money is not being used to pay this settlement.

ISTA is pleased that all of the pending litigation is being resolved on terms that are fair to Indiana's public school teachers who participated in the Trust.

Thanks for your continued support.