In Case You Missed it: Keep our students learning and our teachers teaching
November 6, 2020
Hello Garfield Re-2 Families,
I want to begin by saying what a privilege it is to have your children in our schools, or online, learning and growing in the Garfield Re-2 School District. When we began the mission to re-think, re-develop, and re-imaging what learning would look like for the 2020-21 school year, we were not sure how long we would be able to sustain it.
The great news is that with the safety measures we have put in place - physical distancing, frequent hand washing, wearing masks, cleaning protocols, and increased ventilation - and the hard work of our teachers and staff, we have kept the majority of your children that chose in-person learning, in school. This is a major accomplishment. We also recognize that it has come with a significant impact to our staff, our teachers, our administrators, and our families as they transition between platforms and support their children.
Blood Draw Credit
On your 10/15 paycheck you may see a new field called UR25, this code now houses the blood draw credit if you are eligible to receive it. If you receive your credit through your HSA you will see the code HSA Blood Credit. Payroll recently completed a benefits audit on the blood draw credit to ensure all eligible employees are receiving their correct amount. Any missed months will reflect on your 10/15 paycheck. Starting on 11/15 all UR25/ HSA Blood Draw Credit’s will be for $40. (If your spouse is also an Re-2 employee the credit may be up to $80).
The reasoning for this audit was to ensure all employees have received their correct Blood Draw Credit amount and to be transparent on benefit costs for each employee. Employees now will see their medical costs then the credit, if eligible. Due to the pandemic, blood draws for the $40.00 HSA credit were not completed for this benefit year. We are honoring those who received the credit last year, this year. We hope to bring a third-party vendor to do blood draws in the Spring for the 2021-2022 benefit year.
For 2020-2021 eligibility requirements please review the benefits guide:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aVI548BjcacCXC2AseAOT7EDp12NxMbF/view?usp=drivesdk
If you have questions about eligibility please contact HR at hr@garfieldre2.net
If you have questions about UR25/ HSA Blood Credit on your paycheck please contact payroll at payroll@garfieldre2.net
Questions on Comp Time?
Join our open Virtual Meeting at 2:30pm Monday November 9th for staff to ask questions on Policy GDBC, Support Staff Supplementary Pay/Overtime.
Join us (https://meet.google.com/gwe-unbp-wzm?hs=122&authuser=0)
There are Comp Time changes coming. . .
Garfield Re-2 is revising our practices to align with school district policy and state law. This may mean that our classified staff sees some changes in how that is accrued. Any classified staff member that has comp time accrued will begin receiving notifications starting this week that they have a comp time balance and will be paid out that balance in December 2020. The policy is linked below.
Things to note going forward:
All classified staff will have a 0 balance in comp time accruals starting January 1, 2021.
No compensation time can be accrued for the month of December 2020
Staff will be paid out for accrued comp time on the December 15, 2020 paycheck
Staff will NOT be allowed to accrue more than 40 hours of compensatory time starting January 1, 2021 unless approved by YOU and HR is notified. HR will then take to the Superintendent for special approval per policy if over 40 is warranted.
Compensatory time does affect your budget! Starting January 1, 2020. We will continue to monitor compensatory time as well as overtime to ensure that policy and the state law are being followed. You will receive reports of your employees accruing comp time going forward and will be asked to address that with the employee building the accruals especially if it is near the 40 hours.
There will be more training to come. We appreciate your support and helping us get back on the right path of following Board policy and state law.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns - contact HR@garfieldre2.net
NOTE CHANGES - Garfield Re-2 School Board Workshop and meeting - Monday, November 9, 2020
The Garfield Re-2 School Board will hold its regular Board workshop and meeting at the District Office on Monday, November 9, 2020. The workshop begins at 5:30.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m.
BECAUSE OF THE INCREASE IN COVID-19 CASES AND THE NEWEST COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH GUIDANCE, THE MEETING ROOM WILL BE LIMITED TO 10 PEOPLE. THIS MEANS, DUE TO CAPACITY LIMITATIONS PEOPLE WISHING TO APPEAR IN PERSON AS PART OF THE AGENDA OR PUBLIC AUDIENCE WILL NEED TO APPEAR ONE-AT-A-TIME AND LEAVE PRIOR TO ANYONE NEW ENTERING THE BOARD ROOM.
This meeting will include Spanish interpretation.
If you would like to participate in public comments you may do so in person, via zoom or via email. Please email us at publicaudience@garfieldre2.net to indicate which means you would like to participate by 4:30 p.m. If you would like your comments read from an email, please limit your email to 350 words.
You can watch the meeting via zoom. Agendas are posted below.
Hi there,
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Nov 9, 2020 07:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Garfield Re-2 School Board Workshop and meeting
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82691816211?pwd=MEdmbXRxK1ErSEZCaitvYUVVcWZYdz09
Passcode: 241551
Or iPhone one-tap :
US: +12532158782,,82691816211#,,,,,,0#,,241551# or +13462487799,,82691816211#,,,,,,0#,,241551#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 436 2866
Webinar ID: 826 9181 6211
Passcode: 241551
International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdJyLCk3Gq
Second semester moved back to January 14
At the last school board meeting, the Garfield Re-2 School Board approved a calendar modification that moves the end of the first semester in 2020-21 to AFTER winter break - January 14.
The move was requested specifically because the delayed start of the school year made the first semester significantly shorter than the other, and made it difficult for instructors at the secondary level to get all of the required learnings in the proper time frames.
This change should not impact the elementary schools much, and it may impact some students with their final exams.
HELP US KEEP OUR SCHOOLS OPEN
The best way to help keep our schools open is to keep COVID-19 cases in Garfield County as low as possible.
Help us by making the following commitments:
I commit to:
WEAR a mask.
WASH my hands.
WALK, ride or play 6 feet away.
WORK together safely.
IF ILL – stay home
Garfield Re-2 School District