nonrenewals and resignation

Personal letters

or e-mailPersonal letters

and e-mail to legisla-tors can be very impor-tant in lobbying for oragainst a particular bill.Here are some guide-lines to help you writean effective letter or e-mail:

• Write your letter carefully and check it for correct spelling andgrammar.

• Use the legislator's correct full name and title. • Identify the bill or issue and your specific purpose for writing. • Address what you believe should be done with the bill and ask for

The AdvisorNorthern Colorado UniServ Unit

February 2016Volume 36, Number 3

Nonrenewals and Resignation

Every year the CEA Legal Departmentgives Leaders and Staff some pointers on theannual Nonrenewals and Resignation Season.Within the next several weeks, school districtswill be involved in the process of nonrenewingthe contracts of probationary teachers. Thedeadline for notice of nonrenewal is still JUNE1. If you receive a nonrenewal notice after June1st contact your Local Association Presidentbecause you may still be employed.

For purposes of non-renewal of a proba-tionary teacher’s contract, a "teacher" is definedas a person who holds a license issued by CDEand who is employed to instruct, direct, orsupervise the instructional program. "Teacher"does not include individuals holding authoriza-tions issued by CDE, such as emergency, substi-tute, teacher-in-residence, and literacy instruc-tion authorizations, or other professional specialservices licenses such as those for school psy-chologists or social workers. Notwithstandingthese classifications, some school districts treatall professionals, regardless of license status, thesame way.

Below are some suggested steps the LegalDepartment recommends be taken in nonrenew-al situations:

1. If you are nonrenewed you should havereceived written notice that the board of educa-tion acted at a public meeting to non-renew theteacher’s contract. (Again, written notice by

June 1) A notice of intent not to renew from aprincipal or superintendent is not sufficientnotice of nonrenewal. A principal’s or superin-tendent’s recommendation is not binding on theboard of education. In other words, the board ofeducation must accept the recommendation forit to have any legal effect. If the board hasn’tacted on it, you are still employed.

2. You should request letters of recommen-dation from supportive district administratorsand colleagues. You should do this immediate-ly upon being told there will be a recommenda-tion for nonrenewal (or even before, if nonre-newal is expected). You should not wait forboard action to take this step.

3. Were reasons given in the notice? Youshould know that boards are now obligated togive reasons but need not do so unless a requestis made to the superintendent for the reasons.The request must be made in writing and should

Continued on page 4

February 12 Deadline for submitting Proposed New Business & Resolutions, 3-1-(g), and Award nominations

February 14 Valentine’s DayFebruary 15 Presidents DayFebruary 16 NCUU Council Mtg. 5:30pm @ NCUU OfficeFebruary 26-28 NEA Leadership Summit – Dallas, TexasMarch Women’s History MonthMarch 2 18th Anniversary of NEA’s Read Across America

CelebrationMarch 2 Membership Cadre Mtg. 5:30pm @ NCUU OfficeMarch 4-5 CEA Board of DirectorsMarch 13 Daylight Savings Time startsMarch 14 NCRBC Mtg. 5:30pmMarch 15 NCUU Council Mtg. 5:30pm @ NCUU OfficeMarch 17 St. Patrick’s DayMarch 20 Vernal equinox (spring begins)March 20 Palm SundayMarch 25 Good FridayMarch 27 EasterApril Your local must hold its “Annual Meeting of the

Corporation” April 11 NCRBC Mtg. 5:30pmApril 19 Delegate Assembly Delegate Mtg. 5:30pm @ NCUU OfficeApril 22 Earth DayApril 22 Administrative Professionals’ DayApril 22 CEA Board of DirectorsApril 22-24 CEA Delegate Assembly (D.A.) (Note: Friday-Sunday)

Continued on page 3

Need a Date? Lobbying tools:Making effective

contacts with lawmakers

By Ron

Anderson,

NCUU

Director

By Lynne

Lang,

NCUU

Director

2 The Advisor—February 2016

EDITOR

Ronald G. Anderson

MANAGING EDITOR

Ronald G. Anderson

NCUU DIRECTORS

Ronald G. Anderson and Lynne S. Lang

NCUU CHAIRPERSON

John Ryan

ADVERTISING

Spree Enterprises, Inc.Jon DeStefano, 720-276-2777

The ADVISOR is published by:Northern Colorado UniServ Unit

1116 13th Street, Greeley, CO 80631Phone: (970) 353-4187

Fax: (970) 353-4199

AdvisorThe Volume 36, Number 3February 2016

*To advertise in the Advisor,

please call Jon DeStefanoat 720-276-2777.

Message from the Northern Colorado UniServ Chair

Recently I was reading an editorial in thelocal paper authored by a member of theIndependence Institute. The editorial was talk-ing about the 2016 legislative session and thepossible bills that would be coming up, one inparticular being a bill that would try to changeSB191. The author touted that SB191 waspassed by democrats and republicans evenagainst the opposition of the education union.The editorial stated that without SB191 wewould continue to have ineffective teachers inthe classroom and that it is necessary to makesure teacher evaluations continue to have part oftheir evaluation based on student test scores.The Independence Institute is not the only groupthat pushes for teacher evaluations to be tied tostudent achievement. When I read these edito-rials or hear a radio show host proclaim that theeducation association is the reason for badteachers I just shake my head.

When serving as co-president of my local,

my co-president and I had a few members thatwe had to help through a dismissal process.What we quickly discovered was that we, as theassociation, were there to make sure that ateacher’s due process was followed. Had theassociation not been there, those individualswould have been sent packing with no chance tocorrect the concerns that the administration wasgoing after them on. I can personally attest thatthe association does not protect bad teachers.We protect a teacher being able to be given thechance to make corrections. And if they can’tdo that then they have to understand that theywill be let go. I have seen the association haveserious talks with people about if teaching isreally the best place for them and that maybethey need to look into another line of work.

Now with the current evaluation system inColorado, you can be a great teacher, reallymake the kids connect with their learning, but ifthey don’t do well on one test, then your job canbe on the line. As I talk to teachers I share sto-ries of high school students that finish tests in amatter of minutes because they don’t see how itimpacts them if they receive a low score. Someof my colleagues that teach elementary haveshared that they are starting to see that attitudenow as early as 5th grade. While people pushto keep student achievement as a part of ourevaluation I continue to wonder how many ofthese people ever ask students about how seri-ously they take the test. I am not saying that we

should not be accountable for student achieve-ment, but how do we get rated when the stu-dents don’t have buy in, and how do we getevaluated when the state keeps changing thetesting each year. As teachers we are shootingat an ever changing target.

So is the association against certain aspectsof an evaluation tool because they are trying toprotect bad teachers or is it because they realizethat tying your job to a few tests is not the wayto determine a good or bad teacher? I would saythe latter. While there may be aspects about theassociation that you may not agree with, I thinkit is safe to say that they are there to help to pro-tect your due process and fight to make sure thatwe have an evaluation tool that helps us grow aseducators.

John Ryan is a member of the Valley

Education Association and serves as Unit Chair

for the Northern Colorado UniServ. He teach-

es math and social studies at Valley High School

in Gilcrest.

By John Ryan,

NCUU Unit Chair

specifically request a written response. Therequest should also inquire as to whetherany reasons were given by the principal orother administration officials, and if so,what they were.

4. Understand that the district may bepressuring the teacher to resign “voluntari-ly” rather than face non-renewal – adminis-trators have been known to tell our mem-bers that a resignation will look better toprospective employers on their resumes.We advise teachers that it is best to rejectthe “voluntary resignation” offer in thesesituations in order to avoid the issue of vol-untary resignation coming up in an unem-ployment compensation case. Pleaseadvise your members to talk to yourUniServ Director and to get a legal opinionfrom CEA Legal before resigning.

5. There is no legal basis for challenging anonrenewal unless there is evidence that thedecision to nonrenew was based on unlawfuldiscrimination (race, sex, age, ethnic origin, reli-gious, or disability discrimination or in retalia-tion for having filed such claims in the past) orconstitutional violations (freedom of speech,freedom on religion, freedom of association). Ifyou are uncertain or have a question about a par-ticular situation, please call your AssociationPresident with the specifics of the situation.

6. You may request a hearing before theboard of education to argue for reconsideration.(This tactic has actually been successful in someinstances.)

7. If you are nonrenewed, file for unem-ployment compensation the day school is outfor the year. The Colorado Department of Labortakes on-line applications for unemploymentcompensation benefits at www.coloradowork-force.com/uiic. If you receive a denial, contactyour Association President immediately. Thetime to appeal such denials is only fifteen (15)days from the date the denial was mailed.

8. You have the right to continue under thedistrict’s health plan, at your own expense, for at

least 18 months after the end of the contractyear (usually late August).

9. Violations of the district’s evaluationpolicy are unlikely to provide the basis for alawsuit. (The Colorado Supreme Courtdeclined to review an adverse decision of theCourt of Appeals in Axtell v. Park SchoolDistrict, in which the appeals court upheld anonrenewal despite the district’s obvious failureto follow its own evaluation policy). Have youbeen observed and evaluated and, if so, was theevaluation procedures followed? If not contact

Your Association President. At a minimum, wewill attempt to use your case to convince legis-lators of the inequity of the current law.

In the meantime, regardless of the severityof the violation, consider whether a grievancewould be timely. (Most districts allow for griev-ances if evaluation procedures have been violat-ed; a few also allow teachers to grieve the sub-stance of an evaluation.) Also consider filing acomplaint with the “school district personnelperformance evaluation council,” the one thedistrict is required by the Licensed PersonnelPerformance Evaluation Act to have, to registera complaint about how the evaluation policy isbeing implemented.

10. Check your personnel file for docu-ments which may, by their inclusion, violateboard policy or the collective bargaining agree-ment. You may want to grieve if such violationshave occurred but the remedy, if you are suc-cessful, is removal of the documents, not rein-statement.

11. Remember that, while it may be gross-ly unfair for a district to nonrenew a teacher inorder to create a vacancy which the district canfill with a teacher who can also coach a particu-lar sport, the law does not prohibit the districtfrom doing so.

12. In 2010, some of the rules for non-renewal of teachers changed. In general, itbecame possible at that time for school dis-tricts to offer a "Fourth Year ProbationaryTeacher Employment Contract" to teachers whohad completed their third year in the district.Pursuant to applicable law, this provision mayno longer be applicable if school districts haveimplemented the "new" performance evaluationsystem based on measures of teacher "effective-ness.”

Nevertheless, some school districts mayattempt to place teachers entering their fourth

year of full-time continuous service as"fourth-year" probationary teachers byoffering them "probationary" contracts. Ifyou learn that a school district is attempt-ing to do this, please alert your UniServDirector so that they are aware that of thesituation.

Even if school districts continue toattempt to do this we believe school dis-tricts are required to give teacher s suchnotice prior to June 1of the contract yearin much the same way that teachers aregiven official written notices of the non-renewal of the their employment contractsby a school district board of education.

Resignation IssuesIn regard to resignation during a contract

year, the law requires teachers to give writtennotice of resignation to their board of educationat least 30 calendar days before the commence-ment of the succeeding academic year (the "aca-demic year" meaning that part of the year whenschool ls in the school district are in session)when the resignation takes place during thesummer. Failure to give the requisite noticeallows the district to deduct from the employee'sAugust paycheck any necessary and ordinaryexpenses incurred by the district to replace theteacher , but in no event more than one-twelfthof the teacher's annual salary.

Also, please remember that at least 30 cal-endar days' notice is also required for mid-yearresignations, although some districts will waivetheir right to hold the teacher to this requirementdepending upon the circumstances. Teacherswho leave before the 30 days has expiredshould, at a minimum, ask for an accounting ofthe amounts deducted from their paychecks. Insome instances, districts have deducted morethan they are entitled to deduct.

It is important for teachers to understandthat resignation during a contract year may alsoimpact their application for license renewal,since the Colorado Department of Educationroutinely asks if the teacher has resigned duringa contract year or under the threat of dismissal.While the law also allows for the Department ofEducation to suspend a teacher's license for fail-ing to give the 30 days' notice, the CEA LegalCenter is not aware of the Department havingdone so, and certainly would challenge anyattempt to do so.

Please feel free to contact your President ifyou have any questions about these suggestionsor a particular situation Presidents should feelfree to call the UniServ Office for advice.

(Source: CEA Publication)

Continued from page 1

Nonrenewals and ResignationThe Advisor—February 2016 3


a specific action. • Localize your letter or e-mail message and tell what the bill means

to your community, campus, or school district by name. Be specific andrely on your personal experience as evidence.

• State that you are not expecting a reply, unless you specifical-ly want one.

• Sign your name and give your home address and phone number.

Personal telephone callsTelephoning a legislator is a legitimate form of lobbying. Here's how

to be effective when making a telephone contact with your legislator: • Call your legislator at his or her Capitol office. Identify yourself by

name and hometown. • Identify the bill by its name and number. • State briefly your position on the bill and how you want the legis-

lator to vote. • Ask for your legislator's current position on the bill. If he or she

wants more information or asks for written follow-up to the call, providethe information or agree to mail it right away.

• Thank your legislator for spending time on the phone. (Your legis-lator is busy, as you are.)

• Speak with a secretary or the legislator's staff member if your leg-islator is on the floor or in a committee hearing. Identify yourself and giveyour address, home town, and home phone number; identify the bill byname and number; and state how you want the legislator to vote.

• If you get the legislator's voice mail, leave a succinct message. Ifyou don't want a return call, be sure to say so.

Personal visitsNothing is more effective than communicating your position face to

face with your legislator. • If your legislator knows you have traveled to the Capitol, he or she

will usually find some place to meet with you. It's a good idea to call orwrite in advance to state your desire to meet.

• Your legislator may not have read the bills you want to discuss; takesome time to find out and help educate him or her about the bills.

• Keep the visit as brief as possible. If you are in a group, keep thenumber small and have only one main spokesperson.

• Provide something in writing if possible, such as a fact sheet on thebill and the Association's position on it.

• If possible, conduct the personal visit when the legislator is in hisor her home town in familiar territory. You can meet at someone's homeor in a restaurant, at a school or a business – where ever it's comfortableto get together.

Making effective contacts with legislators • Be informed about the issue you want to discuss. • Be prepared with information relevant to the bill you are talking

about. • Be friendly, open, and prepared to listen as much as you talk. • Be calm and rational and professional. • Be an advocate – tell what the Association's position is on the bill. • Be positive and persuasive, but refrain from arguing. • Be specific and provide examples of the impact the bill will have

on you, your job, your students, your workplace.

Use the appropriate

etiquette The Honorable (Legislator's First & LastNames) Colorado House of Representatives orColorado SenateState CapitolDenver, Colorado 80203Dear Senator (last name):Dear Representative (last name):

Call the Colorado

State Capitol Senate Toll-free 888-473-8136Republican Senators 303-866-4866Democratic Senators 303-866-2316House Toll-free 800-811-7647 All Representatives 303-866-2904(source CEA Publication)

Lobbying tools: Making effective contacts with lawmakersContinued from page 1

The Advisor—February 2016 5

ESSA – Every Student

Succeeds ActESSA will usher in a new era in public

education for students, parents, and educa-tors that shifts the focus back to closing theopportunity and achievement gaps for all stu-dents. Educators, the trained professionalswho know the names and the faces of stu-dents they educate, will be empowered andtrusted to make educational and instructionaldecisions. (CEA, 2016).

For 14 long years, students and educa-tors have lived under the deeply flawed No

Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The EveryStudent Succeeds Act (ESSA) returns deci-sion making for our nation’s education backwhere it belongs - in the hands of local edu-cators, parents and communities - whilekeeping the focus on students most in need.

Simply stated, the Every StudentSucceeds Act will help ensure that all stu-dents, regardless of their ZIP code, will havethe support, tools, and time to learn that theyneed to succeed and that educators’ voicesare part of the decision making process alllevels.

Throughout the reauthorization process,NEA’s priorities were threefold:

1) Elevate the voices of educators in thepolicymaking process,

2) Decouple standardized testing fromhigh stake decisions, and

3) Create an “opportunity dashboard” tohelp close opportunity gaps in needy schools.

Based on these measures, ESSA has thepotential to be a game-changer.

What Happens NextEven after the historic passage of ESSA,

the work in many ways is just beginning.Because the new law does away with somany federal mandates on everything fromassessment, accountability and evaluation,state legislatures will be playing a decisiverole in determining how ESSA is implement-ed. It’s now up to the states to work withlocal stakeholders and districts to design, forexample, new and better assessments andaccountability systems and follow-throughon identifying and filling opportunity gaps.

Mapping out the new grant

structureWhile ESSA retains most formula grant

programs funded currently, the new law

repeals many programs as well and evenadds some new programs, including a newblock grant, Student Support and AcademicEnhancement Grants, that allows funds to beused for many of the same purposes of theprograms eliminated. ESSA provides modestincreases in funding overall each year fromFY 2017 to FY 2020 compared to currentfunding, but it will be up to Congress to actu-ally appropriate the funds.

For more detailed information, visitNEA’s link below for “ESSA ImplementationBegins.” http://www.nea.org/essabegins(Source - NEA Publication)

The Northern Colorado UniServ Unitstands ready to assist you in your many edu-cational endeavors, do not hesitate to contactus! We all face many challenges this yearand you should take comfort in utilizing yourmembership benefits and services.

It is a privilege to represent you on theCEA Board, please do not hesitate to contactme if you have concerns or questions [email protected]. Thank you for yourcontinued support of the association –Together We Stand Strong!

Pat Otto is a member to the CEA Board

of Directors for the Northern Colorado

UniServ Unit and is on leave from Winograd

K-8 School as the Media Specialist.

Currently she is the President of the Greeley

Education Association.

CEA Board of Directors Report

By Pat

Otto,

CEA

Board

The Northern Colorado

UniServ Unit stands ready to

assist you in your many

educational endeavors, do

not hesitate to contact us!

We all face many challenges

this coming school year and

you should take comfort in

utilizing your membership

benefits and services.

In order to receive your

Advisor, you are now depend-

ent on the AR in your building

to forward your copy to your

home e-mail address. Please

help us make distribution suc-

cessful by keeping your AR

updated with your current

home e-mail address.


This year, CEA’s Fall Bargaining Conference was held at theAmeristar Casino and Spa in Black Hawk, Colorado, November 12-14th. The conference was a huge success with over 200 members inattendance. Members attended training sessions such as organizing,grievance processing, basic bargaining skills, bargaining for the com-mon good and Interest Based Strategies.

Many of our Northern Colorado Regional Bargaining Council(NCRBC) members and Staff attended or were trainers. Availablewere many interesting and valuable classes. The Members from ourNCRBC that attended were:

Linda Frasco Fort Morgan EAZachary Norman Fort Morgan EAKelly Kennedy Greeley Education Association

Marcus Diamond Weld Central Education AssociationBrenna Morris Weld Central Education AssociationDebbie Neergaard Greeley Education AssociationPat Otto GEA and CEA Board of DirectorsMichelle Renner Greeley Education AssociationKrisSimmons Windsor Education AssociationPhil Weiser Windsor Education Association

The Trainers from NCRBC were:Lynne Lang, NCUU UniServ DirectorRon Anderson, NCUU UniServ DirectorKim Wass, NCUU Retired MemberPat Otto, Greeley EA President/CEA Board

Fall Bargaining Retreat a Success


GEA and other NCUU members across thearea joined their colleagues and participated in doorknocking activities for Recommended School BoardCandidates and Bond and Mill elections. Somelocals talked to voters about Bond and Mill electionsand about School board candidates that had beenrecommended by individual NCUU Locals.

Thank you to all who participated on Oct 24,2015. It was a great day full of activities. Reportscame back telling us that voters were very friendlyat the doors.

Photos are from a rally in Greeley for GEARecommended School Board Candidates (bothwere eventually elected).

GEA and NCUU Members Talk to Voters

Door Knocks and Pumpkin Rally

Thanks to all who helped!


David Anderson, Eaton Middle School, is currently in his second year as co-president of the Eaton EducationAssociation. He teaches 8th grade science and has been a member of the Eaton Education Association for 11 years.David started his teaching career 34 years ago in Minnesota, had a 17 year “stop over” in Montana, and has been teach-ing in Colorado since 2002.

David has students come daily after school for Lego Robotics Club. The last period of the day is devoted to teach-ing a pre-engineering class. The students attending this class are very interested in the learning which fits right intothe STEM program offered at the high school. Dave has also partnered with NOAA to conduct high altitude atmos-pheric research using student designed research projects. He contributed to a leadership role with LASER science ini-tiatives facilitated with the Smithsonian. Students have participated in Dave’s creative and fun science class by build-ing cardboard boats and cardboard bicycles! David has found ways to create a self-funded pizza account for studentsduring school dances as he also volunteers to sponsor the middle school dances.

David’s wife, also a teacher, works at a charter school in Greeley. They have three children ages 19, 17, and 15.This is a busy family!

Thanks, Dave, for all you do!

Local Association Profile

Dave AndersonPresident of the Eaton Education Association

Lesson PlanetThe #1 online curriculum search for PreK-12 educators.

Special 20% discount for NEA Members!Lesson Planet, a powerful curriculum search solution for PreK-12 educators, is dedicated to making the lives of teacherseasier by helping them locate targeted, peer-reviewed, standards-correlated online resources in seconds.

Lesson Planet members can:• Search from 400,000+ teacher-reviewed and rated online lesson plans and worksheets.• Discover innovative lesson ideas correlated to state and Common Core standards.• Refine results by grade, rating, teaching method, theme and more to find just the right resource.• Personalize learning and differentiate instruction.• Share teaching strategies, ideas and resources with fellow educators.Explore Lesson Planet’s teacher-reviewed lesson plans and worksheets by signing up for a 10-day, full-access Free Trial

at https://www.lessonplanet.com/subscription/new. (Source – NEAMB)


As the calendarturns to a new year, it isalso the time of year tostart preparing andorganizing your paperwork for “tax time”.

During the latterpart of December, theEducator tax deductionwas made permanent,indexed to inflation.The annual $250 educator tax deduction is now permanent, and will beadjusted for inflation, and can be used for professional development as

well as instructional materials and classroom supplies, thanks to the NEA-supported Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015, also passedby Congress. The same bill renewed the Qualified Zone Academy Bond(QZAB) program, which helps finance school renovations and repairs.This Act is in recognition that too many of today’s students are housed inyesterday’s buildings with out-of-date technology and often unsafe, crum-bling infrastructures.

I know our members are generous with not only your time, but yourmoney and resources as well. Taking advantage of the $250.00 tax cred-it is one way for you to keep a little more of your earnings in your pock-et. Over the years, this amount adds up and every little bit helps!

Kerrie Steinbach is the Northern Colorado UniServ Unit’s Program

Assistant and can be reached at [email protected].

Kerrie’s Korner

Happy New Year!

By Kerrie

Steinbach

Your PERA Pension Will Be There For You

With SB 14-214, the General Assemblycommissioned 3 independent studies on PERA.Their results were recently released and found:

Regarding total compensation for stateemployees, the State is just slightly below the pre-vailing market, and the retirement package offeredis within 1% of pay compared to market peers.

When different design plans such asPERA, DB/DC combo, Cash Balance and DConly, the PERA defined benefit plan is the mostcost effective, efficient plan available and worksfor all ages and career paths.

Regarding PERA’s actuarial assumptions,PERA received a “green light” for all majordivisions to achieve full funding and foundPERA’s actuarial assumptions and projectionswere validated.

More information can be found athttp://www.peraontheissues.com/index/php/2015/10/28/independent-studies-offer-expertise-and-insight/

After the Great Recession in 2008, PERApassed our pension reform bill SB 1 in 2010.PERA is required to report every 5 years on theimpacts of this reform bill. That recent reportincluded the following:

The impact of the change to the annualincrease provision on retirees has shown that thebuying power of retirees was sustained and theannual increases have matched inflation.

PERA has saved $15 billion in liabilities todate and is a sustainable pension plan into thefuture. PERA is projected to be fully funded in38 years, instead of running out of money with-in 30 years. PERA’s funded status is on-trackand within .2% of the projection from 2010. Atypical retiree will sacrifice 7 years of benefitpayments as a result of the reduction to theannual increase from the 3 ½% increases to the2% or CPI rate.

More information can be found athttp://www.peraontheissues.com/index.php/2015/11/11/sb-1-report-due-to-general-assembly-by-year-end/

What Percent of Income

Will I Get At Retirement?Your PERA pension plan is a Hybrid

Defined Benefit Plan. This type of plan blendsthe defined benefit structure (uses a formulawhich creates the promised benefit at retire-ment) and the defined contribution features(employer match on a member’s account bal-ance, payable at termination or retirement).

The Defined Benefit (DB) and Defined

Contribution (DC) side-by-side Plan provides asmaller defined benefit and defined contributionbenefit with the goal that both benefits combinedwill provide adequate retirement resources.

A Cash Balance Plan functions like a

defined contribution plan, building a member’saccount balance year-by year through the addi-tion of mandated employer and employee con-tributions as well as the addition of a guaranteedrate of return.

A Self-Directed Defined Contribution

(DC) Plan builds a member’s account balanceyear-by-year through the addition of employeecontributions with an employer match andgrows with actual investment returns.

Compared to other types of plans,PERA’s Hybrid Plan is more efficient anduses dollars more effectively.

When holding costs constant, PERA’sHybrid DB Plan provides the most incomereplace during retirement. PERA provides72.2%, the DB/DC Side by Side provides54.4%, the Cash Balance provides 26.3%and the Self-Directed DC provides 28.3%.

When holding benefits constant, PERA’scurrent plan provides benefits at a lower costthan any of the other three plans. PERAcosts 100%, DB/DC Side-by-Side costs160%, Cash Balance cost 179% and Self-Directed DC costs 242% to provide the sameretirement income for a retiree.

(source – “A Comprehensive Study

Comparing the Cost and Effectiveness to

Alternative Plan Designs Authorized by SB

14-214)

Starting Age 40 Starting Age 40 Starting Age 25 Starting Age 35

Worked 3 years Worked 10 years Worked 20 years Worked 30 years

PERA 4.4% 13.0% 20.6% 72.2%

DB/DC .8% 11.7% 20.1% 54.4%

Side by Side

Cash Balance 2.7% 9.1% 17.1% 26.3%

Self-Directed DC 3.0% 10.0% 19.7% 28.3%

By Bev Green, CEA-R

Region 4 Representative


EATON EDUC ASSN

Catherine Gaber

Cassie Hammond

Amanda Leffler

FORT LUPTON EDUC ASSN

Laura Anderson

Hugo Baeza

Natalie Barela-Ramos

Rebecca Bearson

Lori Burkey

Myrna Chacon

Nicole Duits

Nicole Duits

Annalyse Garcia

Kathleen Gaskins

Christine Glover

Melissa Goane

Justin Guerrero

Amber Hanson

Carrie Johansing

Adela Ledazma

Kathryn Matsuura

Mark Renney

Ruth Rhodes

Christa Riojas

Aspen Rothe

Blanca Sepeda

Rosemary Taylor Kaufman

Heidi Thompson

Diane Tillman

Tim Volek

Candace Whetstone

Marisol Zito

GREELEY EDUC ASSN

Gina Ahmad

Molly Allinder

Erin Anderson

Jennifer Balliew

Sarah Bennett

John Beriault

Lindsay Bohlinger

Joanna Bowns

Abigael Briggs

Denise Brink

Danielle Burden

Joshua Burns

Jamie Byers

Jacqueline Calderon

Carrie Capmbell

Andrea Castleberry

Samantha Conner

Adam Cordova

Kelsey Crosgrove

Lalona Dargis

Amber Daurio

Brian Deveraux

Ky Dietz

Robin Dubois

Jami Duty

Aubrey Eder

Joshua Edmonson

Mary Elmshaeuser

Laura Emery

Melissa Flores

Lorraine Franco

Valerie Fritz

Kathleen Ann Fuchs

Claire Garcia

Jason Garcia

Bret Hamilton

Steven Harris

Erin Harrison

Lisa Hemlbrecht

Kimberly Insana

Amber Jiron

Keegan Kellogg

Erin Kelly

Amanda Kinkel

Kristen Knoche

Austin Kolm

Taylor Ledford

Derek Lefebre

Allison Lind

Kate Maginnis

Laura Marsille Ramos

Jessica Miller

Kyle Mills

Taylor Mills

Jodi Moore

Allysia Mueller

Nicole Mullen

Tiffany Muntz

Stephanie Neujahr

Marshelle Nichols

Mckensie Nweke

Daniel Nypaver

Juliann Pedersen

Kaitlyn Perham

Deborah Perry

Hope Porter

Paul Ramirez

Nicole Renner

Shannalia Reyes

Brent Ritter

Zachary Romer

Samantha Ryan

Abbey Schneider

Annette Schneider

Joseph Schoenecker

Sandra Shedd

Stephanie Sherman

Janice Skiles

Kelli Smith

Katie Spendlow

Elizabeth Sunderland

Erin Tappan

Tracy Thomas

Rachel Thron

Charlene Torok

Laura Trapp

Megan Tritsch

Laurie Van Horn

Anita Venegas

Melinda Walls

Jennifer Wampler

Matthew Weber

Kayla Whitaker

Olivia Zweifel

HIGHLAND EDUC ASSN

Sally Mcintyre

Katherine Schroedl

JOHNSTOWN-MILLIKEN EA

Daisy Covarrubias

Hannah Danes

Veronica Garren

Sara Hart

Link Lanter

Kristina Miller

Nicole Moore

William Okeefe

Christopher Rodriquez

Allison Scott

Katherine Swanson

PLATTE VALLEY EDUC

ASSN

Joy Casey

Elizabeth Ehardt

Stephanie Evans

Chantel Kerr

Rhett Morgan

Gerdiene Mouton

Sara Smith

Melinda Turner

Shannon Wachowski

VALLEY EDUC ASSN

Lisa Logan

WELD CENTRAL E A

Paula Amen

Tiffanie Becher

Zachary Case

Kathleen Chittenden

Lissabel Davila

Crystal Garcia

Kayla Gerkin

Mindy Jones

Lisa Kleynenberg

Alyssa Olson

Scott Poole

Zachary Rae

Rose Rath

Ashley Ross

Ryan Smith

Katherine Swinden

Ashley Westover

Tylynn Zeigler

WINDSOR EDUC ASSN

Ashley Acuff

Kristi Brown

Joshua Cox

Sarah Dixon

Joleen Garcia

Danny Harrison

Courtney Hawker

Jennifer Headlee

Lisa Hess

Allison Larson

Denise Law

Lisa Leuthauser

Mandy Logue

Molly Martinez

Kirsten Metz

Anna Murphy

Ginger Park

Andrea Peroutka

Natalie Plowman

Anthony Reed

Megan Saunders

Laurel Syring

Michael Thompson

Carol Ward

Velvet White

(Members new to the above

districts as of 1/21/16)

Welcome New Members!

You make us Stronger

Welcome New Members! You Make Us Stronger

NCUU’s New Active Members


NEA's Read Across AmericaThe Basics—a crash course in planning a reading event

Your NEA's Read Across America cel-ebration can be as simple or elaborate astime and inclination allow. Whether youchoose to scale up or down, keep in mindthe basic premise and your event is almostcertain to be a success:

On March 2, the National EducationAssociation, for the 18th year, is calling forevery child to be reading in the company ofa caring adult.

The following is a simple scenario forpublic school employees who want to con-duct an NEA's Read Across America eventat their work site. This is by far the mosttypical celebration, and can easily be adapt-ed to other situations.

Let's get startedThese steps are based on the thousands

of pledges we receive every year. Feel freeto use them as springboards to your ownideas.

• Get your principal's approval

Consult your principal and obtain anyrequired approvals. In our experience, prin-cipals love NEA's Read Across America,and the majority will not only support yourefforts, they will become actively involved.In the event your principal has not heard ofthe program, refer him or her to our website (http://www.nea.org/readacross).

• Check your school calendar

Look at your school's monthly calendarand decide on a date to celebrate. The offi-cial Read Across America Day is celebrat-ed on March 2 of every year. If you want tochoose this date but it conflicts with analready scheduled event, feel free to choosea different day. Some schools celebrate dur-ing the week before or after. Talk to yourprincipal and check your school calendar asearly as possible to avoid any last minuteproblems.

• Read about our copyright and

licensing arrangements

Please read about our copyright andlicensing arrangements with Dr. SeussEnterprises. It's important that we honorthese agreements in order to maintain our

very special relationship. (http://www.nea.org/readacross)

• Consult with your librarian

Consult with your school librarian. It islikely that he or she is familiar with NEA'sRead Across America and may have ideasand resources to offer. If possible, reservecopies of books in advance—as March 2draws near there may be a run on Dr. Seussbooks!

• Check with other teachers

Find out if other teachers at your schoolare making plans. Perhaps you can coordi-nate your efforts for a school-wide event.

• Schedule your guest readers

Invite "guest readers" to come to yourclass on March 2 (or the date you have cho-sen) and read to your students. This is themost popular of all activities. There issomething powerful about a local police-man, firefighter, mayor, radio personality,pastor, high school quarterback, or grand-mother sitting down and sharing their lovefor reading with your students. Be sure andask your guests to talk about why reading isimportant in their personal and professionallives, and about their favorite books whenthey were kids. After your event is over,you might have your students write thank-you letters.

• Make arrangements for a birthday

cake

If resources allow, make arrangementsfor a birthday cake. You might want to haveit decorated with the words, "HappyBirthday Dr. Seuss." If funds are in short

supply, find out if any of your parents areenthusiastic bakers. Easy alternatives arecupcakes or cookies. Add fruit punch orjuice for a beverage.

• Get your Cat in the Hat hats!

Everybody wants to wear the famous Cat inthe Hat hat. You can buy hats from our Cat-alog (see the web site), or you can makeyour own from red and white constructionpaper. A large 39 oz. coffee can has a gooddiameter to serve as a pattern for the crown,and you can trace around a large dinnerplate for the brim. This makes a fun classproject.

• Make certificates of participation

Make a certificate of participation forevery student. Children appreciate tangibleacknowledgements for their efforts. If youhave the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed onyour computer, you can download a pre-designed certificate. Visit our onlineResources area to see a list of availableitems. (http://www.nea.org/readacross)

• Tell your students' parents

Send information home to parentsahead of time, along with parent readingtips from our Resource Kit. Some may offerto help out, and a few parents may even vol-unteer to be guest readers.

• Pledge to participate

Let the world know about your plansby pledging to participate. We'll post yourpledge on the page for your particular state.

• Tell your local AssociationIf you are an NEA member, let your localAssociation know about your plans. Theymay be able to offer ideas and support.

• Explore the Web site fully

There is a lot of information at this Website. If you want to expand on the "basics,"explore this site fully for myriad ideas andresources. (http://www.nea.org/readacros)

• Celebrate the Big Day

On the Big Day ... Put on your hats...Enjoy your guest readers. (Did you makehats for them, too?) Eat birthday cake, drinkpunch, and don't forget to sing "HappyBirthday" to Dr. Seuss. Read, read, read.Have FUN!

(source-NEA Publications)

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