Ritz Files Suit Against State BOE

Status Update
By Indiana State Teachers Association
October 22, 2013

Contact: Daniel Altman
daltman@doe.in.gov
Office: (317) 232-0550
Cell: (317) 650-8698

INDIANA SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION GLENDA RITZ FILES SUIT AGAINST GOVERNOR PENCE’S STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

INDIANAPOLIS – In response to apparent violations of the Open Door Law by members of the State Board of Education, Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz filed suit today naming ten members of the Board as defendants. The lawsuit alleges that the named members of the State Board violated Indiana’s Open Door Law by taking action in secret by drafting, or directing the drafting of, a letter they sent to President Pro Tempore Long and Speaker Bosma dated October 16, 2013. The suit seeks to prevent the State Board of Education from continued violations of the Open Door Law and declaratory relief.

Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that ten members of the State Board violated Indiana’s Open Door Law when they took action by requesting that Senator Long and Speaker Bosma appoint Indiana’s Legislative Services Agency to perform calculations to determine the 2012-2013 A-F grades for Indiana schools. The suit alleges that no public notice was issued for a meeting that allowed for this action and that Superintendent Ritz was not made aware of this action until after it was taken, despite her role as Chair of the State Board of Education.

“When I was sworn in to office, I took an oath to uphold the laws of the State of Indiana,” said Superintendent Ritz. “I take this oath very seriously and I was dismayed to learn that other members of the State Board have not complied with the requirements of the law. While I respect the commitment and expertise of members of the board individually, I feel they have over-stepped their bounds.

“Since my inauguration, I have worked tirelessly to communicate openly with the Board and the public. I do not take this action lightly, but my obligations as elected state Superintendent require it. I look forward to continuing to work to improve education for all Indiana students in a fair, transparent and collaborative manner.”

The suit is Ritz v. Elsener, et al and it has been filed in the Marion Circuit Court. The cause number is 49C01-1310-PL-038953. The Department of Education is using in-house counsel to avoid any additional costs to the state.

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Course Change on Annuity Accounts

October 21, 2013

Dear ISTA Members,

We want you to know that today's meeting of the Pension Management and Oversight Commission (PMOC) went well. Much of what happened today is the direct response to your thoughtful communications with members of the Commission.

Today, PMOC members sent a unanimous message about the direction it supports - not to privatize this annuity work but, instead, to find a better balance between what INPRS believes it needs and the needs of its members.

Today's motion from the Commission's final report reads:

1. The Commission considered the four proposals considered by the INPRS Board regarding the issuance of annuities to retirees for their ASAs.
2. The Commission recommends that INPRS pursue an option that would keep the annuitization of ASAs in-house and to not proceed with a 3rd party contract. Instead INPRS should periodically establish an interest rate that will not create an unfunded liability in their managed funds.
3. The Commission recommends the General Assembly not set a statutory interest rate at this time.
4. The Commission recommends that the date to undertake these activities occur not earlier than October 1, 2014.

Basically, the recommendation calls for NO PRIVATIZATION and that INPRS continue to annuitize in-house in a way that will not create an imbalance between what INPRS promises and what it can earn in investments.

This is a "non-binding" recommendation, but carries weight inasmuch as PMOC oversees the work of INPRS. INPRS will meet this Friday and it is hoped that INPRS will take new action to reflect PMOC's recommendations.

The reason for the Oct. 1, 2014 implementation date is to ensure that school employees interested in retiring next summer can do so under the current retirement system.

ISTA will continue to work to make positive impacts on behalf of members. Please stay tuned. We will keep you informed.

Please take time to thank Sen. Karen Tallian for her leadership on this issue and for offering her motion. Also, take time to thank the other legislative members of PMOC for voting for it.

Chairperson: Sen. Phil Boots (R-Crawfordsville): s23@in.gov
Sen. Gregory Walker (R-Columbus); s41@in.gov
Sen. Karen Tallian (D-Portage); s4@in.gov
Sen. Lindel Hume (D-Princeton); s48@in.gov
Rep. Jeff Thompson (R-Lizton); h28@in.gov
Rep. Woody Burton (R-Whiteland); h58@in.gov
Rep. Chuck Moseley (D-Portage); h10@in.gov
Rep. David Niezgodski (D-South Bend); h7@in.gov

ISTA knows this is a high-interest topic and will continue to hold its retirement workshops around the state as originally scheduled.

A Fall Message to Members

ISTA's Teresa Meredith message to members...

Questions for Teresa: 1-800-382-4037

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TRF / PERF Information Meeting

Below is the flyer for a TRF/PERF meeting on September 17, from 5 pm to 7 pm at ANTHIS CAREER CENTER AUDITORIUM, 1200 South Barr St, Fort Wayne. Gail Zerheralis will be presenting the latest information on the changes to INPRS.

All members and their spouses are welcome.

Any teacher who is considering retiring within the next three years will want to attend. Ultimately it will affect all of us, but it will affect that group’s immediate retirement decisions.

Click on the image to download a pdf copy of this flyer.

Summary of Changes for 2013-2015 FWEA/FWCS Ratified Contract

1. Eligible teachers* will receive $1,100 (pro-rated for part-time teachers) on their base salaries for 2013-14. Teachers who were rated Effective or Highly Effective during 2012-13 and have continued employment with FWCS will receive this base increase to their salaries.

2. Base salary for Bachelor’s Degree will be raised the next two years for new hires and eligible teachers* currently below the base salary level:

2013-2014 = $33,875 present, raised to $35,500 = increase of $1,625
2014-2015 = $35,500 present, raised to $37,000 = increase of $1,500

3. Base salary for Master’s Degree will be raised the next two years for new hires and eligible teachers* currently below the base salary:

2013-2014 = $37,500 present, raised to $39,500 = increase of $2,000
2014-2015 = $39,500 present, raised to $41,000 = increase of $1,500

4. New teachers hired in hard-to-fill areas may receive a stipend after completing a required minimum time period after consultation with the Association.

5. Teachers Incentive Fund grant money will be awarded to eligible teachers* in the form of a one-time stipend (following final calculation of evaluations with SIP scores included) during Fall 2013 as follows:

*Only Effective and Highly Effective rated teachers are eligible per law.

                                                               Effective                 Highly Effective
School Year 2012-2013 (retroactive)    $2,000 stipend         $2,500 stipend
School Year 2013-2014                         $2,100 stipend         $2,600 stipend
School Year 2014-2015                         $2,300 stipend         $3,000 stipend

6. Length of contract – July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2015.

7. Per Indiana Law the only items that are allowed to be bargained are salaries and wage-related benefits. Items removed by law are now discussable.

8. Your FWEA bargaining team was able to also keep this language in the contract:

• Grievance Procedures intact with binding arbitration except for teacher dismissals
• Any teacher who incurs expenses or damages for glasses, braces or personal items because actions of a student shall be reimbursed by the Board.
• No teacher shall suffer loss of salary or reduction of leave if the teacher is absent to appear before judicial body or legal authority in an action resulting from student disciplinary situations.
• Teachers providing official retirement notification prior to February 1 and completing the school year will be paid 2% of the teacher’s base salary.

9. All Extra-Curricular stipends (formerly based on indices) will be rounded up the nearest $25.

10. All other former contract language remains intact and will be put in a Human Resource/Administrator/Teacher Handbook with a Memorandum of Understanding that requires official discussion with the Association before any changes are made.

11. The final contract will be available on the FWCS website and the FWEA blog: http://fweateachers.blogspot.com/

Additional Information

Health Insurance Summary

FWCS Press Release announcing Contract Agreement

Pence, Elsener Move to Take Power From Ritz

From ISTA...

Once again, the Indiana State Board of Education (SBE), consistent with its past experience, flouts rules, transparency, meaningful debate, and process in its latest power grab targeted against Glenda Ritz, State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

At today's SBE meeting, member Dan Elsener presented an action item in the form of a resolution, without prior notification to Superintendent Ritz, who chairs the SBE, and without properly placing his resolution on the agenda for the committee's and, more importantly, the public's benefit and future input.

Elsener's resolution calls for him to chair a SBE-controlled committee involving more outside consultants and taxpayer spending to develop Indiana goals-something that the current Department of Education could and should accomplish by way of making recommendations to the SBE.

"Unfortunately, this kind of presumptuousness has become common practice with this and the prior administration's state board of education," said ISTA President Teresa Meredith.

At today's meeting, in the wake of Superintendent Ritz mentioning the need for compliance with Indiana's Open Door laws, a board member seconded Elsener's motion and the board passed the resolution without any substantive debate nor objection except for Ritz' clear abstention.

ISTA encourages its members to contact Gov. Mike Pence and ask him to remind the people he has appointed to the State Board of Education to respect process, transparency and Superintendent Ritz, the elected official who chairs the State Board.

But wait . . . there's more . . .

It appears as though there are no bounds to the State Board of Education and the Governor's march to power-over and over-power Indiana's duly-elected state superintendent of public instruction, Glenda Ritz.

Today's lengthy SBE meeting began and ended with twin power grabs targeted squarely at Ritz.

The first resolution offered by member Dan Elsener called for him to chair a new committee that is tasked with setting the goals for Indiana's education system-something that has always been within the purview of the State Superintendent's office-who also happens to be the lawful chairperson for the State Board of Education. The publicly-funded "Elsener Committee" will contract out with outside consultants, spending additional taxpayer dollars along the way to do the Department of Education's work. Elsener did not give Glenda Ritz, as chairperson, the courtesy of prior notice of his resolution and then called for action on the resolution even though it was not part of the meeting's agenda. Ritz suggested Open Door Law issues with this and then abstained from voting.

After over six hours of handling bona fide agenda items, the power grab continued with another resolution (again, with no prior notice to Ritz) indicating that the State Board of Education was hiring its own executive director, its own general counsel, and will use the Governor's new Special Assistant, charter school advocate Claire Fiddian-Green as its "technical advisor." Ritz was the sole opponent to this move.

"Both of these resolutions are thinly-disguised vehicles to wrest authority over public education policy-making from Indiana's duly-elected state superintendent and they not only disregard Glenda Ritz but the 1.3 million voters who supported her," said ISTA President Teresa Meredith.

"These attempts at discrediting, diminishing, and disrespecting Glenda Ritz and the agency she leads are partisan arrogance at the least and voter nullification at the worst," added Meredith.

Indiana Public Retirement System (INPRS) update

The following are talking points compiled by chief ISTA lobbyist Gail Zeheralis regarding the changes to TRF/PERF. Please encourage share and take action!

1. It appears as though INPRS understands the issues surrounding current year teachers and their ability to retire and still come under the existing annuitization policy. Steve Russo, executive director of INPRS, in an email to me indicated that “The intent of the INPRS board was to make the changes effective on a date that would allow teachers to finish out the school year before having to retire. As you and others have pointed out, the rules specific to TRF would require a teacher to have a last day in pay status on or before May 31st, 2014. Now aware of this, I will recommend to the INPRS board a delay by 1 month that would in essence permit teachers’ to finish out the school year. The next INPRS board meeting is in September. I will see what flexibility we have in communicating the intent before the board considers the change in September.”

As you will note, Steve’s response is very much a teacher (TRF)-focused response. Other school employees (who might be under PERF) may not be jeopardized by a June retirement date, but I will investigate further.

2. The Pension Management Oversight Commission is meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, August 27) and Steve Russo is on the agenda to provide his annual report of the Pension Systems. I presume that the policy changes approved by INPRS dealing with the long-term rate and the outsourcing of the annuitization will come up because legislators who sit on the commission have likely heard about it. ISTA will testify if public testimony is scheduled. More likely, there will be a subsequent meeting on these changes specifically. Please stay tuned.

3. Nobody has really made the case that the annuitization change, in particular, is warranted. Even if there is rationale, there are many ways in which INPRS and/or the Legislature could address it—and INPRS took one of the most aggressive approaches—negatively impacting the most soonest.

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Below is a link to an article from August 28. It gives you some figures to go along with the changes in TRF/PERF. Be on the lookout for a flyer regarding an informational session with ISTA’s chief lobbyist on 9/17. She will provide details on the changes, information she received from her meeting with the governing board, and will also entertain questions from the audience. It will be in Ft. Wayne...members and spouses will be welcome – as well as those in PERF such as police and fire as it affects them as well. More coming your way very soon!!!

State board cuts public pensions

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Please use the link below to the Keep the Promise website to see an update on the changes to TRF/PERF. This will impact retirements for this year as well as in upcoming years.

Pension Management Oversight Committee Discusses Changes to TRF/PERF

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