All employees received an e-mail providing them with the opportunity to complete a survey which sought your feedback regarding the possibility of having a four day work week for our staff and students during the 2009-2010 school year. If you did not complete the survey, please click the title bar above.
Source: Sun-Sentinel
Plagued with money woes, South Florida school districts, as well as many throughout the state, are hiring fewer new teachers.
• The Miami-Dade school district, which in recent years hired at least a couple thousand new teachers each school year, plans to hire only about 150 -- for now. The new teacher orientation, set for early August, has been postponed indefinitely.
Because 1,236 teaching jobs have been eliminated, vacancies are being filled with those displaced teachers rather than new ones. Officials also expect fewer educators to leave because of the unstable economy.
Also contributing to Miami-Dade's declining need for fewer teachers: Student enrollment has dropped by more than 17,000 since the 2004-05 school year.
• In Broward, where enrollment dropped by nearly 14,000 students in the same time period, district officials can't even say how many new teachers they will hire.
At a job fair in May, they hired about 80 new teachers. About 25 more are waiting to be cleared.
They've typically averaged 1,800 new teachers per year in recent years, but now they are in the same situation as Miami-Dade -- filling vacancies with teachers whose positions no longer exist. About 171 of those teachers had been placed as of mid-July, with a dozen or so still waiting. There were some 130 vacancies to fill.
Our area has its own site with contains local and national information related to National Board Teaching Certification. Click here to access the site.
Current Users of Deferred Pay Option,
Please be advised that we expect the Defer Pay Plan Option information to be included with the payroll checks on Friday, May 23, 2008. An individualized memorandum for each employee "currently" on Defer Pay, explaining all the changes and requirements will be included, along with calculation examples, other items and the revised Defer Pay Plan Option form.
Details to come.
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Source: Miami Herald
The Florida House of Representatives on Tuesday unanimously passed a compromise that preserves much of the special training for reading teachers of students learning English -- but the compromise so displeased the bill's Senate sponsor that he promised to let it die without a vote in his chamber.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/514508.html
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Parkway Elementary was chosen as a 3rd Year Implementation IPEGS School for the 2008-2009 school year. It is not clear as to whether or not this assessment tool for teacher observations will replace PACES. Details to come.
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The district's Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is intended to help employees and their families who are suffering from persistent problems that tend to jeopardize an employee's health and continued employment. Please click the title bar above to get more information about this program.
UTD and M-DCPS representatives will meet before a Special Magistrate on March 14 at a hearing on the 2008 health insurance. Details to Come.
Source: Miami Herald:
By KATHLEEN McGRORY
Citing a bleak revenue forecast from lawmakers in Tallahassee, Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Rudy Crew said Wednesday he would consider laying off schools employees -- perhaps hundreds -- to balance the district's tight budget.At previous budget workshops, Crew had said he would not cut back the size of the workforce.''We are now at a point where if I need to, I will be laying people off,'' Crew told the School Board Wednesday.
Read More... <http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/418582.html>
Source: Miami Herald
Teachers, classroom aides and other schools employees rejected a deal struck by union leadership and Miami-Dade County Public Schools over increased health insurance costs, union officials said Monday.
The district had agreed to cover all cost increases until June 30. After that, employees who chose the most comprehensive plan would have had to share part of the expense.
But the teachers and other employees voted overwhelmingly against the package, arguing that the extra expense would eat away at their hard-fought raises. Their approval was necessary to set the plan into action.
The district and the union will likely have to hold a hearing before a special magistrate.
School Board Auditorium to provide information for interested employees regarding the
bachelor’s degree program offered through Barry University.
Source : Miami Herald
The Miami-Dade County School District and the United Teachers of Dade reached a tentative agreement Monday on how to pay for the rising costs of healthcare insurance.
Under the plan, the district will cover the cost increases until June 30. After that date, employees electing the most comprehensive plan will share part of the expense, district spokesman John Schuster said. The cost of dependent coverage will also rise.
All participants in the 12-month deferred payment plan must re-enroll for the 2008-2009 school year. Deferred Compensation occurs when eligible 10-month employees choose to have their wages paid over a 12-month period, causing them to defer part of their “earned” income from one calendar year to the next.
The IRS has specific guidelines and requirements that must be followed and adhered to if electing to participate in the Defer Pay Plan:
Please be advised of the following Payroll Highlights for 2008:
* W-2 forms for calendar year 2007 will be distributed as soon as they are available, but no later than January 31, 2008.
* The Social Security taxable wage base is increased to $102,000 the maximum social security tax at $6,324.00.
* The 1.45 % Medicare tax applies to all of an employee's FICA-covered wages, there is no maximum for the Medicare tax limit.
* Advance EIC payments: Eligible employees must file a new W-5 form every year.
* If you are exempt from Federal Withholding, a new W-4 form, attesting to the exempt status, must be filed by February 16, 2008.
Please be aware that December 21st is NOT a Teacher Planning Day. As a reminder the upcoming opt days are January 18, March 21 and 28. If you intend to be absent at any point next week, please give Ms. Tillman ample notice to make the necessary arrangements.
Please note the following for the paycheck of December 7, 2007:
Please note the following for the paycheck of December 21, 2007:
· 2007 Fall Coaching lump sum payment will be paid.
· 2006-07 Outstanding Teachers In D/F Schools Bonus will be paid.
Please click the link above for the latest information regarding employee benefits.
Please click the link above to review the identified Critical Staff shortage areas in the district and the incentives for working in one of those categories.
Please click the link above to receive pertinent information regarding your compensation for this year
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