Team Fort Osage met for the third time this year on February 6. It was a productive meeting with exceptional feedback provided by the committee. There was discussion about health insurance, staff investment options, school calendar and the budget (information provided below on each). The next Team Fort Osage meeting is scheduled for April 2. Health Insurance CBIZ provided an update on Fort's claims loss for the past twelve months (123%). This means for every dollar Fort spends on health insurance premiums, our provider is spending $1.23. Separately, due to some concerns with our third party open enrollment vendor, Colonial, Fort has been exploring options for next year. Colonial also provides supplemental insurance policies to staff. Transition to a new company should have minimal impact since staff make annual decisions whether to participate. Last, Natalie Magee, Fort's new wellness coordinator, was introduced to the committee. She will be at Fort Osage on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to engage our staff in wellness activities. Staff Investment Options Beyond the Missouri Retirement System (PEERS and PSRS), staff have the opportunity to invest additional money in voluntary retirement programs. Providing the best investment options for staff is important so we have been investigating options to increase the number of staff who invest in voluntary programs. As reported in the January blog, over the past few years I have met with representatives from the Cooperating School Districts Retirement Trust (CSD-RT) to learn more about the 403(b) and 457(b) Deferred Compensation plans sanctioned by the Cooperating School Districts of Greater Kansas City (CSDGKC). Additionally, in the past few months I have also had meetings with our current investment companies. When you boil the information down, the advantages of each option are listed below. Advantages of CSD-RT
Advantage of Current System (keeping current vendors)
Additional communication will occur with staff in the coming months once a decision is made. If you have questions please contact Laura Ford at [email protected]. School Calendar After feedback from Team Fort Osage the 2021-22 school calendar was adopted by the board of education at the February board meeting. Per state statute, the first day of school will be August 23, and this year there will be five preservice days for certificated staff, compared to the usual four. The remainder of the calendar is fairly consistent with prior years, with first semester ending with an early release day on December 22, and staff returning from winter break with a PD day on January 4. Spring break is planned for the week of March 14, and the last scheduled day of school (prior to snow days) is May 25. There are a total of five full PD days and no early release PD days. Budget Update We have continued the budgeting process for the 2020-2021 school year and will be working on it until its approval in June. A big factor in determining our budget is state funding, which will largely be determined by the legislators who will be in session until May 15. The collection rate of local revenues is currently down compared to prior years. We will continue to monitor this since property tax revenue has a significant impact on our budget. My goal is to provide appropriate staffing, resources, and money toward benefits and salaries while maintaining a balanced budget. Comments are closed.
|
Archives
May 2022
Categories |