NOVEMBER 2005

VOL. 16 NO. 4

During recent negotiations between the District and CCASAPE, your CCASAPE negotiating team negotiated a medical reimbursement retirement account for retiring administrators who meet agreed upon criteria. The District agreed to establish the medical reimbursement account as an incentive for administrators to not unnecessarily use their allocated sick leave. District funds which are contributed to the account may be utilized by retired administrators to pay for medical premiums and other medical expenses in retirement. Plan provisions are outlined in Article 13-9 of the Agreement between the District and CCASAPE, can be found on the CCASAPE website, and are reprinted for your information below:

13-9 Administrative and professional-technical employees who retire from the School District with no less than two-hundred fifty (250) days of accumulated sick leave may elect to have the School District purchase a medical reimbursement account based on the retiring employee’s daily rate of pay for forty-five (45) days but not to exceed $20,000.

13-9-1 In order to qualify for School District participation in the purchase of the medical reimbursement account, an employee must meet the criteria and follow the procedures stated below:

13-9-1-1 The employee resignation form must be submitted to Administrative Personnel at least three (3) months prior to the effective date of retirement from the School District.

13-9-1-2 The employee’s unused sick leave balance must be no less than two-hundred fifty (250) days as of the effective date of the employee’s retirement from the School District.

13-9-1-3 During the two (2) years prior to retirement, if the employee uses more than five (5) total sick leave days, the total excess over five (5) days will be deducted from the forty-five (45) days to be contributed to the medical reimbursement account.

13-9-1-4 The employee must be receiving retirement benefits from the Nevada Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) within three (3) months of the last day of employment with the School District.

13-9-1-5 Employees for whom the District has purchased a medical reimbursement account are not eligible to receive any other form of payment for unused sick leave days from either of the parties.

13-9-2 Any employee who elects to receive an early retirement incentive under District Regulation 4370 is not eligible to receive any purchase of a medical reimbursement account.

13-9-3 The parties will work together to select a plan administrator to implement the provisions of Article 13-9.

13-9-4 Article 13-9 is effective for the 2005-2006 through the 2008-2009 school years only, but may be extended upon mutual written agreement of the parties.

CCASAPE staff is currently working with the District to develop an RFP (Request for Proposal) that will be distributed to various vendors who will be selected to manage the individual accounts that are established for qualifying administrators. This contract provision will apply to administrators who retired subsequent to July 1, 2005, and who meet the criteria specified in Article 13-9.

All health plan participants (actives and retirees) are reminded that the open enrollment period for making changes to your health benefits plan will end on November 30, 2005. Please contact the CCASAPE office if you require additional information or assistance regarding plan selection. Any changes you make in your benefit election will become effective on January 1, 2006. The CCSD Benefits Office will assist you with the paperwork associated with these changes (799-5418).

On November 10, 2005, the CCASAPE Representative Council held its regular monthly meeting. The major items discussed and/or actions taken during the meeting included the following:

1. The revenue, expenditures, and balances within the CCASAPE Association and Trust Fund Accounts;

2. OLD BUSINESS:

A. CCASAPE Retreat – The CCASAPE all day business meeting will be held in Mesquite, Nevada, on February 11, 2005. Stephen outlined the tentative arrangements that have been made for the all day meeting;

B. CCASAPE / CCSD Health Insurance Plan – Stephen reviewed the six health insurance open enrollment meetings which were held during October and provided a status report regarding the number of administrators enrolling in the new medical benefit plans. Additionally, an overview was provided regarding the status of proposed policy changes regarding medical benefits for retirees who are not CCASAPE members during their employment with the District;

C. Administrative Reclassification – The results of the recent annual assessment of school based principal positions were provided to the Representative Council. Twenty-three positions were assessed at a higher salary range as a result of the reclassification criteria. Fourteen positions were assessed at a lower salary range. The Site Management Report (school based point factors) will be posted to the District’s website in the near future for review by principals. Discrepancies should be reported to Jan Urioste. Articles 20-11-4 and 20-11-5 in the Negotiated Agreement outline the procedures for the review of non site-based positions and site-based principal positions;

D. November 9, 2005, Administrators’ Advisory Council Meeting – Agenda items discussed at the November 9 Advisory Council meeting were reviewed; and

E. Electronic Files – Stephen provided a status report of a recently filed grievance related to the District’s use of electronic files in violation of the Agreement. Current contract language prohibits the District from placing disciplinary documents in the electronic file. CCASAPE is willing to renegotiate this language when the District is able to demonstrate that the required safeguards have been implemented. CCASAPE has requested that electronic file procedural safeguards be established in the following areas: (1) restricting access to electronic files to authorized individuals only, (2) developing a tracking system that will monitor who accesses files and which files are accessed, and (3) establishing a procedure to permanently remove imaged files as per contractual and statutory agreements.

3. NEW BUSINESS:

A. Unused Sick Leave / Retiree Medical Projected Payouts – Projected January payouts for unused sick leave and retiree medical assistance for retired administrators were reviewed and approved. The Representative Council approved maintaining the current payouts at $10.00 per day for up to 250 days of sick leave and $450 per year for each of the first five years of retirement to provide retiree medical assistance. An actuarial review is conducted every two years by a professional actuarial service to ensure that sufficient funds are available in the School Administrators Welfare Trust to continue these payments for future retirees;

B. Use of the Conference Summary – Stephen discussed recent contractual changes regarding the use of the conference summary;

C. Superintendent Search – Stephen reviewed CCASAPE’s concerns with the current superintendent search process. These concerns were discussed with Board members at the October 20, 2005, Board of School Trustees meeting; and

D. Year Round School Stipend – Authorization was provided by the Representative Council for CCASAPE to sign a memorandum of understanding with the District that memorializes agreement that in order to qualify for the year-round school stipend the principal must be assigned to a school operating on, or expected to operate on, a multi-track year-round schedule. This agreement is based on the past practice and pervious agreement by the District and the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-technical Employees. This language will be included in the Agreement during future contract negotiations.

4. COMMITTEE REPORTS:

A. CCAESP – Charles Anderson, President, reported that monthly meetings are being held with Dr. Orci. Primary focus of these meetings remains the acquisition of additional elementary assistant principals, increasing custodial supply budgets, and staff development concerns;

B. CCASSP – Bob Gerye, President, reported that a joint elementary / secondary social is being planned for January. Additionally, Bob reported that the CCSD was one of three urban districts selected for the NASSP Breaking Ranks training and that the NASSP annual convention will be held in March, 2006, in Reno and will be held in February, 2007, in Las Vegas; and

C. Legal Committee – Cathy Conger, President, reported there was no activity of the Legal Committee.

5. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – Stephen provided a review of the accountant’s report, membership report and the various CCASAPE activities and the types of assistance provided to CCASAPE members.

The second Advisory Council meeting of the year was held on Tuesday, November 9, 2005. CCASAPE representatives to the Administrators' Advisory Council include Executive Board members Cathy Conger, Joe Murphy, Bart Mangino, Karen Smallwood, and John Barlow. Also on the Administrators' Advisory Council is Charles Anderson, President of the Clark County Association of Elementary School Principals, and Bob Gerye, President of the Clark County Association of Secondary School Principals. Jeff Hafen is the non-licensed representative to the Administrators’ Advisory Council and also represents the Professional-technical Employees. CCASAPE staff, Allin Chandler and Stephen Augspurger, also participate in the meeting.

Topics discussed at the November 9, 2005, meeting included school police, electronic files, allocation of elementary assistant principals, pay for performance, substitute service, staff development, 2006-2007 budget development process, support staff hiring procedures and timelines, Education Services Division, and teacher recruitment and hiring plans.

Article 28 of the Agreement between the Clark County School District and the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-technical Employees states that an employee about to undergo an investigatory interview is entitled to an association representative and reasonable notice shall be given. There have been occasions recently in which administrators who have been given notice of an investigation attended the investigatory conference without an association representative. CCASAPE strongly encourages all CCASAPE members to contact the CCASAPE office prior to an investigatory conference to ensure that arrangements can be made for appropriate representation.

Additionally, all administrators, both administrative supervisors and administrative employees, are reminded that the Agreement between the District and CCASAPE allows the notice of an investigatory conference to be sent via e-mail or fax, but only at the request of the receiving administrator. A notice of investigatory conference which is faxed or e mailed without such a request constitutes a violation of the Agreement.

Article 28 of the Negotiated Agreement between the Clark County School District and the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-technical Employees provides this guarantee and is reprinted below for your information:

28-1 An administrator about to undergo an investigatory interview is entitled to an association representative or another representative and reasonable notice shall be given. Reasonable notice shall mean notification not later than the day prior to the actual meeting except when circumstances may require a prompt investigatory interview. Any and all notices of the supervisor’s desire to hold a conference with an administrator shall include the subject of the conference. The notice must be provided verbally, physically handed to the administrator, forwarded by certified or registered mail, or at the request of the administrator faxed or e-mailed.

28-2 After notice has been given and in the interest of expediting a resolution to a disciplinary problem, the School District may require an administrator to choose between participating in an investigatory interview without representation or not being interviewed. All investigatory interviews must be held within the administrator’s work day as defined in Article 15.

28-3 An administrator’s right to representation during the course of an interview arises if the supervising administrator takes any steps beyond merely informing the administrator of a disciplinary action.

Any administrator who receives an unsatisfactory evaluation is encouraged to contact the CCASAPE office for assistance in reviewing the evaluation. In a recent situation, an administrator received an unsatisfactory evaluation, but did not contact CCASAPE. The administrator became aware after the timeline had elapsed that the unsatisfactory evaluation contained significant procedural and contractual violations. Unsatisfactory evaluations and disciplinary documents must be legally sufficient, must be consistent with contractual requirements outlined in the Agreement between CCASAPE and the District, and must be consistent with the relevant provisions of the Nevada Revised Statutes.

At the October Representative Council meeting a one year subsidy for retiree health care was approved. With the introduction of new medical benefit options and premium reductions from Vision Services Plan and Sierra Health, all active administrators with dependents will be paying less for medical insurance beginning January 1, 2006. The one year subsidy for retiree health care was approved to ensure that retirees have no out of pocket increase for retiree health care between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2006. Retirees are reminded that the subsidy is for one year only. The premium increases that will be covered by the subsidy will be passed on to the retiree effective January 1, 2007.

The subsidy will not include those retirees on the Classic Retiree Plan (Medicare Eligible) as there was no premium increase for participants on this plan. Also, the subsidy will not be applied to retirees who select the new HMO or new PPO plans that are being offered for the first time. The subsidy is not applied to these two new plans because the premiums have already been reduced.

Listed below are the new retiree premiums for the current CCASAPE POS plan and the approved subsidies. Premiums for the new HMO and the new POS were reported in the September Unifier.

CCASAPE RETIREE HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS
JANUARY 1, 2006 – DECEMBER 31, 2006

CURRENT CCASAPE POS PLAN ONLY