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IASA Daily News Briefs
Monday, June 17, 2013 Expectations low for special session on pension reform
Pension standoff showcases Democratic leader differences
Chicago Sun-Times: Compromise on pensions
Belleville News-Democrat: Madigan obstructs rather than leads
Universities offer partial Illinois pension fix
Statehouse Insider: Let’s spend the summer in Springfield
Decatur Herald-Review: Manar’s school funding committee a good idea
‘We want our kids to succeed’: Mascoutah School District adopts new grading scale
Process your IASA Membership Dues Today! The 2013-2014 IASA membership drive is officially underway. Renewal invoices have been sent to all members for processing dues. For your convenience, membership dues can be processed as follows:
Dues must be received by August 1 in order to be included in the 2013-2014 IASA Membership Directory. If you have any questions regarding membership, please contact Stephanie Price at 217.753.2213. SB 1 Fails
Click here to view past issues of Capitol Watch.
You can view the June 2013 newsletter by clicking here. Past newsletters can be viewed here.
The We Are One Illinois union coalition issued a release Thursday morning highlighting a potentially serious new problem with Senate Bill 1, which is expected to be called for a vote as soon as today. An actuarial analysis of SB 1 by TRS showed that “(SB 1)…creates a Social Security compliance issue for Tier 1 in addition to the existing issues for Tier 2.”
The release went on to explain that because the pension benefits would be less than what employees were paying for it under the provisions of SB 1, those employees would no longer be exempt from Social Security, from which 80 percent of Illinois’ public employees, including teachers, now are exempt. The end result, the release said, is that school districts and other affected employers eventually would have to start paying the 6.2 percent employer portion of Social Security taxes. That would result in what the release called “Social Security chaos, eventually leading to massive local property tax hikes and making the proposal an unfunded mandate of historical proportions.” The release also said the state’s savings from SB 2404 -- the version backed by the We Are One coalition that passed the Senate but not yet called for a vote in the House – would save an additional $26 billion in health care savings to the state and, when added to the original estimate of knocking $6 billion off the state’s unfunded pension liability, would amount to more than what SB 1 actually would save. The estimated amount saved by SB 2404 uses the assumption by SB 1 proponents that about half of the employees and retirees would choose to opt out of the health care and keep their compounded COLAs if given a choice. If fewer opt out, then the pension savings would increase. Please click here to view the We Are One release, which includes a link to the TRS actuarial analysis. Click here to view an article from the State Journal Register entitled "Union review: Senate pension plan would save $26B in health costs."
Starting Right: Board-Building for the New Governance Team Starting right; that's what every school board and superintendent want and need to do. After the board election, each district seats its new members at the organizational meeting and, in many cases, conducts a formal orientation for its newly elected members. But then what? How do the school board and superintendent transform this blend of veteran and new board members into an effective school governance team? Click here to view a video from Roger Eddy, executive director of the Illinois Association of School Boards.
Dr. Voltz's Ed Leadership Thoughts
What is more effective? Coaching or telling? Updated Wednesday, June 5 2013
May 15, 2013 Issue RV’s Recommendations for Weighting Components of Danielson’s Framework for Teaching When I train school administrators on using the Danielson Frameworks for Teaching (FFT) I am often asked how to score (rate) the professional practice of teaching. A good place to start this discussion is the ISBE model process for summative rating. This model system has been created and published already and is on the ISBE/PEAC website at http://www.isbe.state.il.us/PEAC/default.htm The following is information copied from the website: Read more
Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC) In 2010, Gov. Pat Quinn signed the Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA), which requires all schools in Illinois to change how teachers’ and principals’ performance is measured. PERA requires districts to design and implement performance evaluation systems that assess teachers’ and principals’ professional skills as well as incorporate measures of student growth. Click here to access the PEAC website. Click here to access some of the resources on the PEAC website.
Many times statewide organizations are best known for what they oppose rather than those things for which they stand. When it comes to educating children, the IASA has always tried to be proactive. The IASA Board of Directors in November overwhelmingly supported a proposal to move forward with a “visioning” process to develop a long-range blueprint for improving public education in Illinois. Read more...
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Welcome to IASA's temporary website. This site includes all of our basic information and will be updated daily. We will utilize this site for the next few months while our new, permanent website is being developed. Thanks for your patience during the development of our new site.
Dr. Brent Clark
IASA Executive Director
Dr. Rich Voltz's Ed Leadership Thoughts