Legislative Bulletin # 1

January 25, 2016

As this short session of the legislature quickly rolls along, IRTA has closely monitored the progress of three bills. The first one is HB 1325 which proposed moving the early retirement age back from the “Rule of 85” to “Rule of 95”. We were pretty sure from the start that this bill would not be heard as that was the opinion of most of the State Representatives to whom we talked. It was reassigned from the Employment, Labor and Pensions to the House Rules Committee, which is the grave yard for legislation each session, effectively ending our concern for this session.

The next bill of interest is HB 1161 “13th Check Bill” and we felt that this bill would be pushed through the House since Labor and Pensions Chairman Doug Gutwein authored the bill and Rep. Burton joined him as co-author. We are working with House members to get an increase in the check since it has not happened since the inception of the “13th Check”. There is still an outside chance we might see a slight increase in the check amount.

HB 1161 went unanimously through Employment, Labor, and Pensions Committee and during the Ways and Means Committee, Chairman Brown offered an amendment that funds the “13th Check” from the proceeds of the recent “tax amnesty” program. This passed the House Ways and Means Committee unanimously. This is a big step because the bill usually passes through the House, but without funding established. This should help us greatly as it passes over to the Senate side.

HB 1004 is being promoted as a tool to help with Teacher Shortage. I do not find much in this bill that would inspire me to become a teacher. The biggest problem that we have with the bill is that it has the “Defined Contribution Only” component in it for future educators as an option. I testified against it, but it still passed out of committee 9-3. I do not see how it can benefit future educators. If this bill passes through the senate, it opens the door for further expansion of the DC down the road. Legislators argue that it gives educators more freedom and choices. Our pension plan gives us all of the same options, plus the Defined Benefit, which is our best retirement tool. Having teachers vested in 5 years would give our teachers better options, especially those that come to us as second career teachers. We appreciate all of you who contacted the House Education Committee. We have work to do as this bill moves over to the Senate in a couple of weeks.

Rep. Cherry was going to author our COLA bill this year. It was in draft form and just days prior to the session beginning, Rep. Cherry had a medical emergency. We were told that his bills would be carried forward. Just prior to the bill filing deadline, we checked on the bill again and were told this time that leadership decided not to move that bill forward through the House, but would have stalled in the Senate. We wish Rep. Cherry a speedy recovery.

Please attend our Legislative Brunch and remember our free bus service from the IRTA office that leaves at 8:30 and returns at 12.

As I have observed last year and with my involvement in the legislature this year I feel very confident that the House members understand our plight and are supportive. The Employment, Labor and Pensions Committee and the House Ways and Means are especially supportive and understanding. Please write, or call, to thank them at:

200 W. Washington Street

Indianapolis, IN 46204

Or

1. To find your legislators, go to “Indiana General Assembly Home” (www.in.gov/legislative) At the bottom of the screen, click on the tab “Find Your Legislator” and put in your address.

2. Go to any Town Hall, Cracker Barrel, meetings that may be held in your area. We want to introduce ourselves or make ourselves known as interested retired educators, and they hear our message.

3. We are getting much support, so please start by thanking House Members for the “13th check” and hope the Senate will do the same. Listen as well as talk in polite and reasonable ways.

IRTA Legislative Brunch

ATTENTION! INDIANA RETIRED TEACHERS LEGISLATIVE BRUNCH

Tuesday, February 23, 2016 at the Indiana Statehouse, Indianapolis - 9:00am to 11:00am

Go with your officers that morning and help us get our message personally to our IN legislators. We will be leaving very early to get to the IRTA offices in Indy. They are chartering buses to take us to the statehouse. The deadline for reserving a seat on those buses is: THURSDAY, JANUARY 22nd

Check your calendars and let Barb Kanning know by that deadline if you are available to go with us. I guarantee it will be an interesting morning. I will be driving, and we should get back to Fort Wayne by mid-afternoon. Call or e-mail Barb at: 432-5228 or kanning4@frontier.com

Also, I hope you have communicated with our IN legislative committees (or will very soon) as requested by Tom Mellish, our IRTA Executive Director. That's the best way to let them know we NEED an increase in that September stipend --- I can't seem to call it a "13th check"!!!

Thanks for helping our AREA retired teachers,

Barb Kanning, AREA President

A Call to Action from IRTA

Dear Members:

We are asking you to contact House of Representative legislators immediately. This is a short session and bills will move through committees very quickly. The Defined Contribution Only Plan is in House Bill 1004 and has been placed in the House Education Committee. Rep. Behning is the author and chairman of the committee so we know it will be heard in committee. We want to keep ahead on this issue and debate. I have spoken with many superintendents, principals, and new teachers about the advantages of a DB benefit over the DC Only Benefit. No one sees the advantage or reason that a DC Only Benefit would entice people to enter the teaching profession. The reasons, or Talking Points, on why we do not need a Defined Contribution Plan Only;

• Indiana Educators have both a DB and DC component to their retirement plan, the pension and ASA account

• Individuals can decide how aggressive or conservative they want to invest in their DC/ASA account and make changes quarterly

• If a person leaves the profession, they can roll over or use the DC/ASA money at their discretion

• The amount educators would have to save is at least 10 percent of their salary from day one.

• In today’s dollars an individual would need to save a minimum of $650,000 dollars to replace just the pension portion of the retirement plan

• It may cost the state more money to manage another fund

• Letting people take the money and run in a few years doesn’t solve the teacher shortage in the long term or promote longevity in the profession

• The DC Only option would have less people putting money into the pension to pay off pre-1996 retirement fund debt

House Bill 1161 the (“13th Check” Bill) has passed unanimously through the Employment, Labor, and Pensions Committee. An increase is also on our wish list and we are working for an amendment to this bill that will increase the amount of the “13th Check” as it goes to the House Ways and Means Committee. Please ask your legislator and members of the House Ways and Means Committee to increase the “13th Check” amount. Their contact information is at the end of this bulletin. The “13th Check” has never increased since its inception. It will be a struggle to get an increase this session since it is not a budget year. We feel we have support and momentum to get an increase in the House. The true test will be in the Senate. The first step is to get it through the House. Our Talking Points for the need of an increase for the “13th Check” are the following:

• No Social Security increase this year

• 8 years since last COLA in 2008

• Grocery prices have increased over 32% since 2008

• Electric Bills have increased over 15% since 2008

• Health care cost continue to escalate

• Over 14,000 retired teachers receive less than $1,000/month in their pensions

• Over 6,000 retired teachers receive less than $650/month in their pensions

• Indiana has had a surplus from their yearly budget the past few years that would more than fund a “13th Check” each year

• “13th Check” amount has never increased since its inception

Please contact your representative along with your family members and friends. Here is the link to get your legislator’s contact information http://www.in.gov/legislative. In addition to contacting your own legislators, we are adding the committee contact information. Please thank the Employment, Labor and Pension Committee for their support on the “13th Check”. Refer to the attached Word document for contact information.

Thank you for your continued support. You are the ones that make the difference in the legislature. This short legislative session is intense and quick moving as the bills pass through multiple committees. Friend us on Facebook, Twitter and watch our website http://www.retiredteachers.org for the most recent information throughout the session.

Thank you for your support of our legislative efforts.

Tom Mellish
Steve Beebe

President's Letter - October 2015

Dear Allen County Retired Educators,

Our second of four annual meetings will he held on Thursday, October 29th at Biaggi's Restaurant at Jefferson Pointe. We will begin our meeting promptly at 11:00 AM, so come at 10:45 AM to check in, pay for your lunch, and get your new 2015-16 Membership Directory.

Please make your reservation with Mary Jo Purvis at: 471-5952 or mpurvis1@frontier.com. It would be a great help if you would contact her by October 22nd. If you need special dietary changes, please talk to the wait staff that day. Selections from a limited menu will be available.

The meal cost will be $15.00 payable when you arrive. If you are a 2015 retired teacher or administrator, and you are a first time attendee, your meal is FREE. Members who bring a non-member retiree, will get a TWO-FOR-ONE deal for lunch. Let Mary Jo know when you make your reservation.

The program for this meeting will be John Jacobson, EdD, Dean of the School of Education at Ball State University. He will define Immersion Learning as it is integrated into the BSU curriculum and provide information on implementation. If you attended our June 2015 meeting, we hear from Abby Savage on how she was using this program.

Our new 2015-2016 Membership Directory will be available at this meeting. It is free to all paid members, or it can be sent to you for an additional $2.00 mailing fee. On pages 3 and 4 of the book is the annual information for submitting Volunteer Hours for 2015. This information is so important to submit to our legislators to lobby for COLA. Send your total hours to Arlene Konley by December 1 at:

8206 Covenant Lane
Fort Wayne, IN 46835

or akonley@gmail.com or 260-316-7587. We want to again make AREA the top volunteer chapter in Indiana!

[CLICK HERE to download a copy of the Volunteer Hours form for printing.]

Scholarship information will be available from Nancy Sprague, Committee Chair, at the meeting. If you have a family member who is a college sophomore or junior with an education major this academic year, they are eligible to apply in early 2016. The applicant must be related to a retired educator. Let's have a winner from our Area 2.

If you have not yet paid your 2015-16 AREA dues of $10.00, contact Pam George at: 471-5952 or pamgeorgeph@comcast.net. She also has IRTA membership brochures. We need your support.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at Rack and Helen's, New Haven.
Great program on Fort Wayne Honor Flights.

###

Superintendent Ritz in Fort Wayne

Vic’s Statehouse Notes #230 – September 30, 2015

Dear Friends,

All public school advocates in Northeastern Indiana are invited to hear a presentation by State Superintendent Glenda Ritz followed by a panel discussion of leading educators this Saturday (Oct. 3) at 2pm in Fort Wayne.

The panel will discuss solving the teacher shortage. We are delighted that Superintendent Ritz will be available to discuss the commission she has formed to investigate this topic and to brief the group on other current issues in Indiana schools.

We hope you and your friends who support public education will come!

This regional ICPE meeting co-sponsored by the Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education will be on Saturday, October 3, 2015, at 2 pm (EDT) in the Ivy Tech Coliseum Campus Auditorium, 3800 N. Anthony Blvd., Fort Wayne.

Speakers

After the presentation by State Superintendent Ritz, a panel of experts will discuss the teacher shortage:

• Rep. Melanie Wright, Yorktown (Sen. Kruse and Rep. GiaQuinta were invited but were unable to accept)

• Kathy Carr, Director of Human Resources, Fort Wayne Community Schools

• Karin Huttsell, Teacher, Northwest Allen and Blue Ribbon panel member on the teacher shortage

• Dr. Joe Nichols, Professor, IPFW

Jenny Sanders of the Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education will moderate the panel. Marilyn Shank, board vice president of the Indiana Coalition for Public Education, will serve as chair of the meeting.

We thank State Superintendent Ritz and all the panel members for accepting our invitation to Saturday’s meeting.

I hope you can support public education in Indiana by coming to our Fort Wayne meeting. Bring a friend who is also ready to join the battle to restore public education to a high priority in Indiana!

If you can’t come to Fort Wayne, please consider coming to one of three subsequent meetings around Indiana:

October 13, 7pm (EDT), Bloomington City Hall

October 20, 6:30 (CDT), Evansville Central Library

October 21, 7pm (EDT), New Albany Schools Service Center Auditorium


Thanks for your advocacy for public education!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith


“Vic’s Statehouse Notes” and ICPE received one of three Excellence in Media Awards presented by Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an organization of over 85,000 women educators in seventeen countries. The award was presented on July 30, 2014 during the Delta Kappa Gamma International Convention held in Indianapolis. Thank you Delta Kappa Gamma!


ICPE has worked since 2011 to promote public education in the Statehouse and oppose the privatization of schools. We need your membership to help support ICPE lobbying efforts. As of July 1st, the start of our new membership year, it is time for all ICPE members to renew their membership.

Our lobbyist Joel Hand continues to represent ICPE during the interim study committee meetings in September and October. Our work in support of public education in the Statehouse goes on. We welcome additional members and additional donations. We need your help and the help of your colleagues who support public education! Please pass the word!

Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information and for full information on ICPE efforts on behalf of public education. Thanks!


Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana.

###

IRTA Letter to Gov Pence

August 3, 2015

Dear IRTA members:

After reading the Indianapolis Star on Saturday morning, August 1, 2015 I ask that you join me in emailing, or writing, Governor Pence on what he should do with the $210 million dollar surplus that he has sole discretion on how to spend. He mentioned many areas where the money could be used, but not once mentioned that the Pension Stabilization Fund was even in consideration. If you did not write the first time I sent this message out, I ask you to do so now. If you previously wrote the governor, I don’t think it would hurt to do it again.

In 2013 he used all $66 million to pay off prison construction loans and none into the Pension Stabilization Fund. If Governor Pence this year would use half of the surplus amount ($100 million) and pay it toward the PSF, the legislature could then grant a COLA and/or a “13th Check” to retired educators in 2016 without increasing the liability on the pre-1996 Retirement Fund. I will give you bulleted points that you may want to use in your personal emails or letters to the Governor:

• Paying down Pension Stabilization Fund helps long term fiscal health of state and bond ratings
• Legislature would have the opportunity to give a COLA without further burden to pre-1996 unfunded liability
• Over 14,000 retired educators make less than $1,000/month in their pension
• Over 7 years without a cost of living increase
• Retired Educators have lost 16% purchasing power since 2008
• Less spending, less tax revenue

Please remember to write in a polite and positive manner in your own words. Share any hardships that you have experienced due to lack of a pension increase in last 7 years.
Thank you for your support.

Tom Mellish
Executive Director

The Honorable Mike Pence
Office of the Governor
200 W. Washington St., Rm. 206
Indianapolis, IN 46204

or email at http://www.in.gov/gov/2333.htm

Telephone - 317-232-4567

President's Letter, July 2015

Dear Allen County Retired Educators,

Our first of four yearly meetings will be Tuesday, August 18, 2015 a the Lodge at Coyote Creek (formerly Elks Club) at 4935 Hillegas Rd. We will begin our meeting promptly at 11:00 AM. Come at 10:45 to check in an pay your dues!

Please make your reservation with Mary Jo Purvis. It would be a great help if you could contact her by August 12th. If you have special dietary needs, please talk to the wait staff that day. The luncheon will be a delicious buffet with salads and rolls at our places upon arrival.

At our October 2014 meeting, the Lodge at Coyote Creek realized that our service was not what was expected. They were newly opened, and the staff was not coordinated. As an apology, the owners want to offer us all free lunch for this meeting! Instead of paying for your lunch, the AREA board would like to ask you to make a donation to the IRTA Foundation. It is a wonderful opportunity to help many others. If you are writing a donation check, make it payable to Indiana Retired Teachers Foundation. As always, new 2015 retirees will be our guests that day -- make them welcome.

The program for our August meeting will be a presentation by Liz Hincks, Education Coordinator for the Little River Wetlands project at Eagle Marsh. She has a great program to share with us about this important resource in Allen County. Our meeting will conclude with our annual Necrology Service.

Mark your calendars now for the remaining three AREA meetings:

• Thursday, October 29, 2015 at Biaggi's Restaurant
• Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at Rack and Helen's Restaurant
• Tuesday, June 14th at Pine Valley Country Club

Every effort has been made to reserve fine food at a venue that can hold all our members comfortably.

MEMBERSHIP: All members will receive a 2015-16 Directory at the October 29th meeting, or it can be mailed to you by adding $2.00 to your membership dues of $10.00. Please note on this form if any information is a change. Checks payable to AREA. Pay at the August 18th meeting or mail to: Pam George, 6316 Tree Top Trail, Fort Wayne, IN 46845

Click HERE to download a membership form.