Harry has asked me to address the staff meeting so I am also putting the information I will give you Wednesday in writing for your reference and for those unable to attend.
Please note: due to problems with our bank, you will receive a paper check Friday. Direct Deposit should resume for the Jan 30 check. We apologize for this inconvenience.
1.Charter School Advocacy: last Wednesday night parents from all 3 Hoboken charter schools attended our PTSO meeting to learn how we can fight for more funds for charter schools. Our budgets are frozen (new charters are receiving even less money) and we need funds to be able to keep up with rising costs.
Three lobbyists spoke:
Jay Wright from the NJ Charter School Association
Derrell Bradford executive director, B4kidsNJ
Kathleen Nugent, executive director, NJ Democrats for Education Reform
They encouraged us to write and call our legislators.
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp
State Senator Brian Stack 5801 Palisade Ave., West New York, NJ 07093
Phone: (201) 861-5091
301 45th St., 1st Floor, Union City, NJ 07087 Phone: (201) 558-7926
State Assemblyman Ruben Ramos 70 Hudson St., 7th Floor, Hoboken, NJ 07030
Phone: (201) 714-4960
The above website has names and contact information for your legislator. Please call, email or write and ask for more funding for charter schools. Ask them to vote for new Legislation proposing a new charter school funding formula. Tell them:
All students deserve a quality education
Charters should receive equal funding
Charters should receive facilities funding
Charters should receive autonomy in exchange for accountability
2. Health
We have made some budget adjustments to allow us to maintain health care contributions at the current rate temporarily. However, rates will increase in the fall and increase yet again next January.
We have solicited proposals from private health insurance companies. Several companies were unable to submit a quote lower than our current State Plan. Several companies submitted Private High Deductible Plan quotes lower than our current plan. A committee has been established to review the proposals. Susan Gilbertson, Diane DeSombre, and John Rutledge are currently members, other staff are welcome to join.
The main advantage to joining a private plan is the lower price. The school takes the risk of absorbing the higher deductible for the employee, gambling that most employees will never reach it.
Disadvantages are:
1. Private plans offer only 1 insurer by law. State plan offers 3. This will mean that 2 out of the 3 insurers will be dropped, forcing employees to switch doctors.
2. Private plans offer lesser benefits, such as paying only half of emergency room, hospitalization, scans, X-rays, mammograms etc. Staff would need to be willing to risk higher out of pocket costs in return for lower premiums.
3. Small group plans are known for coming in low and rising astronomically in future years. (Ethical went up 50% in the second year).
For these reasons the committee will be considering alternatives to our current health plan very carefully. The results of the recent staff health survey are also being compiled for the committee's use.
We also can control costs by making a change in how much the school pays toward health benefits of employees on maternity leave. The school has been paying 100% of the health costs up to 9 months, which runs up to $13,000. If that is reduced to cover only disability and family leave, which lasts 4.5 months, the cost would be half. If the employee wished to stay out longer, they would pick up the entire health cost of $1700 per month. This is the policy in other charters and NJ school districts.
The committee will also consider moving out of Direct 10 into Direct 15, which is slightly cheaper.
By working together as a group to understand our financial options we can make decisions together in the best long term interest of the school, rather than having decisions imposed on us. We are all in this together!
