Team Fort Osage met for the second time this year on December 5. It was a productive meeting with exceptional feedback provided by the committee. There was discussion about health insurance, the CSD Trust, school calendar and the budget (information provided below on each). The next Team Fort Osage meeting is scheduled for February 6. Health Insurance Cigna will be our provider beginning January 1. If you currently have an HSA, it will be unavailable to employees from January 5 until approximately January 16 while funds are being transferred into your new account. CBIZ recently hired a wellness coordinator that will be at Fort Osage on Tuesdays and Wednesdays beginning January 7 to engage our staff in wellness activities. There will be more information in the future regarding the health screenings which will be scheduled for March. A reminder that if you have not yet cashed in your Go365 bucks balance, you will only have until December 31 to do so. After that any points, bucks and rewards will no longer be available to any members. If you have additional questions please refer to the November 25 blog posting below or contact Laura Ford at [email protected]. Cooperating School Districts Trust 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 plan sanctioned by the Cooperating School Districts of Greater Kansas City (CSDGKC). This program has been adopted by many other school districts in the State of Missouri and offers low-cost mutual fund investment options and personalized retirement planning, which meets all compliance standards and provides a streamlined administrative solution. Fort currently has four preferred retirement plan vendors from which staff can choose to have payroll deducted pre-tax. Currently 26% of staff participate in the voluntary program. In order to seek more engagement I have been considering joining the CSD-RT. Below are some advantages and things to consider regarding the CSD-RT. Advantages of CSD-RT
Potential Challenges
After receiving feedback from Team Fort Osage the District is moving forward with exploring the utilization of the CSD-RT as early as July 1, 2020. Additional communication will occur with staff in the coming months. Those who are using one of the preferred vendors will be given specific information regarding their options with their existing accounts. If you have questions please contact Laura Ford at [email protected]. School Calendar Team Fort reviewed several options for the 2021-22 school calendar and provided feedback to create a hybrid option that will be recommended to the Board at their February 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. Once the Board adopts the calendar in February, we will make it available for all staff to view. Budget Update We have already begun 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 from January 8 through May 15. Local revenues based on property taxes are gaining much media attention because of increased assessed valuations, but the District expects to see only a modest increase in operating revenues because the Hancock Amendment limits the increase the District can capture. My goal is to provide appropriate staffing, resources and money toward benefits and salaries while maintaining a balanced budget. Comments are closed.
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