We Are WDMCS
District Staff Monthly E-Newsletter
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020
Golf in the Halls Jan. 18
Play miniature golf in the halls of Valley High School during the West Des Moines Community Schools Foundation‘s Second Annual Golf in the Halls event!
From 2-5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18, and again from 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday, Jan. 19, join a fun and family-friendly event to help raise money for the Foundation's teacher grant program. Putters and golf balls will be provided.
New SCR/Valley Collaboration
Beginning this week, Aaron Young, School/Community Relations specialist, will spend Mondays and Thursdays at Valley High School. School/Community Relations supports numerous projects at the building, and we feel an on-site presence will help build relationships and provide an opportunity to launch an internship program for students with our department.
This is a pilot program for second semester. We will evaluate its success over the summer and determine if we want to maintain this schedule for the next school year.
We are excited for this new collaboration opportunity.
New Transcript Grade Change Request Form
Secondary teachers who wish to request a grade change to a student's transcript will need to complete a new Google form. This form is to be used at all secondary buildings.
This form is also available as a link in Canvas and in the Staff Quick Links section of the WDMCS website.
PODCAST: Learn More About Our Demo Teacher Program
New Staff Lunch Ordering System
The WDMCS Nutrition Services Department is offering a new lunch ordering system to staff members at Indian Hills Junior High, Stilwell Junior High, Valley Southwoods Freshman High School, Valley HIgh School, and the Learning Resource Center.
The online system allows staff members to choose from several $3 soup, salad, and sandwich options to create delicious custom lunches that can be picked up in your building. Order by 9 a.m. for day-of orders, or up to 30 days in advance, and select the pick-up time slot that works best for your schedule. The LRC has one 11 a.m. pick-up time.
Step 1: Add Money to Your Lunch Account
All orders must be pre-paid to be filled. You can add money to your lunch account through InTouch.
Step 2: Order Your Customized Lunch
Then, use the Staff Ordering menus WDMCS Nutrition set up in Nutrislice to order a customized lunch.
Step 3: Pick Up Your Lunch
Keep your lunchtime speedy and delicious with the new staff lunch ordering system from WDMCS Nutrition!
WDMCS Health Insurance Information for 2020-21
For eight years, WDMCS avoided passing any increases in health insurance premiums to its employees. As we prepare for the 2020-21 fiscal year, we anticipate premium increases will result in some shared cost impacting employee contributions to their healthcare insurance.
Over the next few months, the WDMCS insurance committee, comprised of representatives from the WDMEA, WDMESP, Administrative Leadership Team (ALT), and the Business Services Department, will collaborate to determine if or how increased premiums will impact employee contributions. The committee is scheduled to submit a recommendation in spring 2020 which will take effect July 1, 2020.
We will send additional information to you as soon as more details become available in the coming months.
Important W-4 Tax Information
The 2020 Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, is very different from previous versions. This is due to the federal tax law changes that took place in 2018. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is not requiring all employees to complete the revised form and has designed the withholding tables so they will work with both the new and the prior year forms. However, certain employees will be required to use the new form: those hired in 2020 and anyone who makes withholding changes during 2020.
Even though the IRS does not require all employees to complete the revised form and even if your tax situation has not changed, we recommend you perform a “paycheck checkup” to see if you need to make adjustments to your current withholding. To conduct the checkup, you can use the IRS’s Tax Withholding Estimator (www.irs.gov/W4App). To effectively use the estimator, it is helpful to have a copy of your most recent pay stub and tax return. It is likely that the estimator will be updated to account for the 2020 tax tables in early January. Please note: if you do not submit a new form, withholding will continue based on your previously submitted form.
Before completing the 2020 Form W-4, please read the instructions that are included with the form. You must complete Steps 1 and 5. Steps 2, 3, and 4 are optional, but completing them will help ensure that your federal income tax withholding will more accurately match your tax liability. Step 1 is for your personal information. Step 2 is for households with multiple jobs. Step 3 is used to claim tax credits for dependents. Step 4 is for other adjustments (additional income such as interest and dividends, itemized deductions that exceed the standard deduction, and extra tax you want withheld); and Step 5 is where you sign the form.
The IRS takes your privacy seriously and suggests that if you are worried about reporting income from multiple jobs in Step 2 or other income in Step 4(a), you check the box in Step 2(c) or enter an additional withholding amount in Step 4(c). To determine the additional withholding amount, you can use the withholding estimator.
The IRS has also published Frequently Asked Questions that you may find helpful as you complete the form (https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/faqs-on-the-2020-form-w-4).
Current form - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf
Des Moines Performing Arts Discounted Tickets
the Group E-Tickets Events Site for all discounted events this 19-20 season. Use promo code EGROUPS1920 for savings!
School/Community Relations
buckl@wdmcs.org
515-633-5023
Alexandra Wade
515-633-5022
Aaron Young
younga@wdmcs.org
515-633-5016
Email: scroffice@wdmcs.org
Website: www.wdmcs.org
Location: 3550 Mills Civic Parkway, West Des Moines, IA, USA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wdmcs/
Twitter: @WDMCS