E.Q.
September 2020
Welcome back!
I wanted to express my gratitude to all of you who have worked to make the start of the 2020-21 school year great for kids. This year presents unique challenges for all of us but especially for students. Among these challenges, children across the country faced the loss of contact with important positive adults in their lives when school districts shifted to remote learning. Your efforts are allowing students in Mat-Su to enjoy critical contact with caring adults in our brick and mortar schools and a chance to take advantage of all of the wonderful opportunities and supports schools provide. I also want to thank those of you who are working with families who have opted for at-home or correspondence learning. Shifting to meeting the needs of students and families by offering remote learning to all who want it requires special flexibility and dedication on your part. Thank you all, for motivating students each day in classrooms, for taking on the task of educating students remotely, or for working behind the scenes to make our systems operate. Your efforts are much appreciated. On behalf of all of the students we serve, thank you all for a great start to the school year.
Dr. Randy Trani
MSBSD Superintendent
As medical professionals learn more about the most effective mitigation strategies to address COVID-19 we will be updating our district resources and guiding documents to align with best practices. To keep information current and accurate we will be maintaining our mitigation plans and guidance on the District’s Corona Virus webpage. We ask that you access forms and documents from this page directly and not refer to saved or static documents that you may have downloaded previously. The operational zone levels can be accessed on the coronavirus response webpage www.matsuk12.us/coronavirus. Use the below link to access COVID-19 Employee Guidance and FAQ.
Dates to Remember
Voluntary Benefits
Column Move Request Deadline
CEA Sick Leave Bank Deductions
Reviewing Your Pay
- Pay Rate: Make sure the rate listed under the BASE PAY line is the correct published rate. You can check this against the posted salary schedule or your employment contract if you receive one.
- Benefits and Deductions: Look at the employer and employee paid benefits and pre and post tax items. Is everything listed that should be; retirement, life insurance, health insurance, other purchased benefits etc. You do not need to verify the amounts unless you would like, just a quick check to make sure everything is there.
- Leave Balance: Review the leave posted, did you receive a new accrual and are all leave types correctly listed.
If anything is wrong or you have questions, contact the payroll department and ask that they review the items with you in more detail. From here, you should be able to note the amount deposited in your bank account each payroll, which should remain the same. Pay amounts from period to period rarely change, and if they do, it is for a specific reason. Most commonly due to leave without pay usage or an additional earnings amount for example, bonus, longevity, overtime etc. Pay will also be different from September 15th through May 30th of each year as some deductions (health, life, union dues, etc.) are only taken during this period.
In addition to the above there are three other simple checks that we recommend annually.
- Evaluate your federal withholdings. Have you had a life event recently which would require you to change your deduction amounts? Maybe you paid a large tax bill last year and would prefer to have more withheld every pay period to avoid writing that large check in April. Regardless, the IRS recommends that all individuals review and complete a form W4 annually to keep elections up to date.
- Calendar Year Amounts. When W2s are received in January we recommend you take a few minutes to match your pay to the reported W2 boxes. This review is the most time consuming but will allow you to have a greater understanding of how each of your benefit elections impacts your net earnings. This form provides you with instructions on how to complete this review.
- Fiscal Year Amounts. After your final pay in May or June, you should review the fiscal year amounts listed for each pay type. Most importantly look at the “BASE PAY” line item. Does the fiscal year to date amount match the salary amount published on the salary schedule or your employment contract. This is the total amount you were paid for the year, in regular wages/salary, take a look to make sure it is what you expected.
MORE DATES TO REMEMBER
National Board Certification Incentive
Longevity Payments
On the October 30th payroll, longevity payments will be processed for MSEA and CEA employees. Per the CEA Negotiated Agreement, “all employees who remain at step 10 on the salary schedule shall receive an amount equal to 5% of their prior fiscal year wages earned at step 10 of their permanent position but not less than $1500.” CEA employees will receive notification by October 1st of the earnings amount used to calculate the bonus, and the employee shall notify Human Resources of any discrepancy within 7 working days. MSEA employees who do not receive a step increment due to their placement at the end of columns B+60/M+15, M+30, M+45, or D shall receive a payment of $2,077, which is equal to the step increment on the MSEA salary schedule.
Year Long Co-Curricular Stipends
Voluntary Supplemental Benefits Open Enrollment
Eligible employees have an opportunity to enroll in Voluntary Supplemental Benefits from November 4th to November 25th. Changes will be effective January 1st. Eligible employees must be contributing to SBS and be permanent employees. More information will be provided closer to the enrollment period.
If you have any questions, please contact the Payroll Department at 761-4357 option 4, or the Division of Retirements and Benefits at (800) 821-2251.
SAVE THE DATE
-Attend a Group Retirement Session, hosted by the State of Alaska Department of Retirement and Benefits, from the comfort of your home.
-Online introductions to local vendors.
Saturday, Nov 7, 2020, 09:00 AM
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Financial Resources and Tools
American Fidelity Updates
To assist with the nation’s response to COVID-19, the IRS recently announced increased flexibility during calendar year 2020 to allow new types of mid-year election changes for flexible spending accounts (FSAs). You can also take advantage of extended time periods applicable to unused amounts in FSAs to cover expenses incurred through December 31, 2020. You can contact Nate Leslie with American Fidelity at nate.leslie@americanfidelity.com or 1-866-576-0201 Ext.4 to learn more.
Dependent Care Account Tips from American Fidelity
If your dependent care plans have changed because of COVID-19, it may be helpful to see if your new arrangements are eligible for reimbursement. For example, babysitters may be eligible if certain criteria is met. View the list of eligible DCA expenses ►
DCA Questions Related to COVID-19
My daycare is closed. Can I change my Dependent Care Account (DCA) election amount? ►
How will I restart my DCA deductions once my daycare reopens? ►
More Dependent Care Account Customer Support
403(b) and 457(b) Payroll Deductions
Employees have the option to contribute to existing 403(b) and 457(b) accounts through payroll deductions. The OMNI Group is the District’s third-party administrator for these deductions. OMNI manages the maximum contribution limits and any distribution requests. In order to have contributions withheld from your paycheck you will first set up an account through a financial advisor and then complete a salary reduction agreement (SRA) online through The OMNI Group.
Health and Wellness Benefits
Don't Be Blue
Go365 is a wellness program that is part of your health benefits coverage with the Public Education Health Trust. The Go365 program is designed to reward us for making healthy choices. You could be rewarded for a range of fitness, prevention, and education activities—anything from participating in a 5k to completing a routine dental exam. It’s a Status based program that starts all members at Blue Status and moves you up based on activities completed and Points earned. Each Point you earn is also equivalent to a Buck that can be spent in the Go365 Mall. You can then spend Bucks in the Go365 Mall for items like, Amazon.com gift cards, fitness devices and more!
We have designed some fun initiatives to help you get out of Blue Status, earn some Points and maybe even some fun prizes along the way.
- Health Assessment completion promotion
- July 15th – September 15th; ALL subscribers who complete the HA by September 15th will receive an additional 245 bonus Go365 points.
- 2500 Bucks ($25) will be raffled off to 45 subscribers
- Go365 National Step Challenge
- Participate in the National Step Challenge where we will compete against other employers with Go365 and help PEHT win a donation made in our name to local foodbank. More details coming soon!
- Enrollment: September 9, 2020 - October 6, 2020
- Competition: October 14, 2020 - November 11, 2020
- Step Upload period: November 12 - November 17, 2020
Questions? Check out the Go365 Community Page at https://community.go365.com/ or call customer service at 1-800-708-1105.
Have you tried Teledoc?
Health Coverage Contact Information
MSBSD is actively looking for substitutes! Who do you know that would be perfect?
We not only need Substitute Classroom Teachers, but also:
Lunch/Recess Monitor Subs,
Special Education Assistant Subs,
Office Staff Subs,
Custodian & Nutrition Services Subs,
And MANY, MANY more!
Send them to https://bit.ly/MSBSDsubs, and help us fill our spots!
Mat-Su Borough School District
Email: hr@matsuk12.us
Website: www.matsuk12.us
Location: 501 North Gulkana Street, Palmer, AK, USA
Phone: (907)761-4357