Minutes - January 25, 2023
General Assembly - long session
Dr. Ellis welcomed everyone and said the General Assembly is in a long session. Historically, this means they will discuss the budget. Dr. Ellis believes there will also be a discussion about school calendar law. Our calendar committee has been working on ending the high school testing session before winter break. Dr. Ellis said, “sending students home on a two-week break and then asking them to get ready to take state tests is not preferable.”
The second topic of discussion in the General Assembly will likely be about public school funds going to charter schools. We have a law that allows us to put certain revenues (like rent, for instance) into a special fund. When we rent one of our facilities, that money does not have to be shared with charter schools because it is our expense and our revenue. This “Fund 8” as it is known, allows us to separate what funds should be shared with charter schools and funds that should not. Of course, charter schools want a slice of that revenue even though they had no part in paying the expense. A discussion will likely be had to revisit the current arrangement at some point, to the detriment of public schools and the advantage of the charter schools, as usual.
Budget Update
The consensus in the General Assembly is that they want to expand Medicaid. Important for the budget in the last three years. The federal government would pay 90% of the cost associated with expansion. It’s good for rural health care. It is important because the budget has been tied up due to Medicaid expansion the last few years. Dr. Ellis thinks there is still room for teachers' salaries to be discussed again. One more round of $1,500 for the retention bonus is coming in May! All employees should receive a state supplement.
Questions?
Other counties (including our neighbor Moore County) are getting monetary compensation for LETRS training. Why not Montgomery?
We chose to do it during the day and part of it after school. You should be getting a check for the after-school hours' portion of LETRS training. MCS went with a hybrid model, so training was limited outside of school hours.
We have heard that the State Health Plan is changing. When will it take place? Will there be any major changes involved?
There will be no change until Jan. 1, 2025. Blue Cross Blue Shield will switch to AETNA insurance. The deductible, out-of-pocket maximum, and monthly should not change. The state has said there should be no significant change to coverage.
During a review of FERPA, it came up about not using computer programs/websites with which the school doesn’t have a contract. How would that work for programs like Spelling City, Zearn, and other programs the DLCs recommend that require setting up individual students?
It is best practice to have a contract. The only thing you should put into the program is the students' names, nothing else. Personally identifiable information should not be entered into programs.
There has been a question about bereavement pay for immediate family (mother, father, sister, brother).
This is a local decision; Dr. Ellis will bring this up to the Montgomery County Board of Education.
Is National Boards reimbursed?
For teachers to be eligible for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certificate Reimbursement, they must have purchased and submitted all four components. Teachers who have not completed all four components will not be able to be reimbursed until all four are completed. The deadline to complete all four and be eligible for reimbursement will be June 30, 2024.
Personal Days? Do we get refunded for the days we took last year?
Employees do not have to pay for personal days. Once the rule came into effect, no employee was charged. The rule is not retroactive.