April_2019

ADVOCATING

APRIL 2019 CEA ADVISOR 5

Plan to Stabilize Teachers’ Retirement Fund Is Good News; Fight Against Teacher Pension Cost Shift Continues

CEA is backing a proposal by State Treasurer Shawn Wooden to restructure the state Teachers’ Retirement Fund in a way that protects teachers while saving the state an estimated $900 million over the next five years, according to the Office of Policy and Management. This is a plan CEA has strongly advocated for. The plan, which is contained in SB 873: An Act Stabilizing the Teachers’ Retirement Fund, would allow the state to reamortize its unfunded pension liability over 30 years, reducing required contributions to more sustainable levels. It would adopt a more realistic estimate for the assumed rate of return on investments in the Teachers’ Retirement Fund and create a Special Capital Reserve Fund to ensure the repayment of outstanding pension obligation bonds issued in 2008. Testifying before the legislature’s Appropriations Committee, CEA President Jeff Leake noted that Wooden’s plan, which has the support of Governor Lamont,

“ensures the long-term viability of the Teachers’ Retirement Fund and accomplishes two critically important objectives: it reduces the state’s annual payments to a more manageable level (and minimizes the anticipated spike in payments as we approach 2032), while also allowing the assumed rate of investment return to be lowered from 8 percent to 6.9 percent.” “This is a win-win for the state and its dedicated active and retired public school teachers,” said CEA Retirement Specialist Robyn Kaplan- Cho, who also testified before the committee. “It will ensure the fund’s solvency and stability for years to come.” The Appropriations Committee has until May 2 to vote on the plan. Pushback against cost shift continues While a proposal to shift a portion of the state’s teacher pension system costs onto cities and towns failed to make it out of committee this legislative session, Governor Lamont’s latest plan brings a smaller version back. “We strongly oppose any teacher

with members of the Connecticut School Counselor Association and the New England Association for College Admission Counseling, many of whom are CEA members, for a “Day on the Hill” at the State Capitol to increase awareness of the valuable role school counselors play. “Many people do not understand the breadth of school counselors’ training and what we do on a daily basis,” says Veatch. “Some have preconceived ideas from their own school experiences interacting with guidance counselors, but guidance counselors didn’t have the mental health training we do.” She adds, “There are way too many districts where students don’t have access to school counselors.” Connecticut ranks 32 out of 50 states and the District of Columbia, with a student-to-counselor ratio of 466:1—nearly twice the American School Counselor Association recommended ratio of 250:1. Lebanon Middle School counselor retirement cost shift that transfers millions in costs from the state onto our cities and towns,” says Leake. “Most municipalities would be left with less funding for their schools, and teachers’ future salaries and health benefits could be negatively impacted.” “If the town also has to cover a portion of pension costs, that will have to come from somewhere— either larger class sizes or fewer resources,” says Berlin Education Association President Evelisa Mayette. “It’s already such a tight situation—it’s like taking water from a stone. We can barely function with the resources the town gives us. If Watch your inbox for CEA Action Alerts letting you know when decisions will be made about a potential cost shift or other legislation affecting your profession. Be ready to respond and urge your legislators to support teachers, students, and public schools.

Connecticut have equal access to school counselors. It shouldn’t matter if you attend a rural, urban, or suburban school—you should be getting the same support.” Before meeting with legislators, the school counselors gathered at CEA’s office in Hartford to discuss “We know how to advocate for our kids; we need to also advocate for our profession,” said Veatch. Trumbull High School college and career counselor Samantha Eisenberg added, “We want to make a difference for students and get them more access to the services they need. We’re trained to be proactive for our students, and we need to be more proactive in talking to legislators and letting them know that access to school counselors can really help.” Mansfield Middle School counselor Eileen Melody pointed out that studies also show that comprehensive school counseling programs help decrease suspension rates, improve attendance, and raise graduation rates—as well as improve college and career readiness. The counselors urged legislators to support SB 956: An Act Concerning Guidelines for a Comprehensive School Counselor Program, which CEA also testified in support of. political advocacy and the importance of speaking up. the state tells the town it has to contribute additional dollars, it’s going to hurt us in future negotiations. Berlin has underfunded the Board of Education budget for the last five years. We’re underfunded compared to similar towns. And yet lawmakers think somehow teachers can negotiate more money into their contract. It’s got to come from somewhere in the end, and it feels like it’s coming out of the pockets of teachers one way or another. If a town has to take the burden of a cost shift, the cost to teachers in the future will be awful.” Teachers point out that they are not responsible for the state’s budget woes and shouldn’t be held liable for the state’s failure in past years to pay the required amount into the pension fund. They have also been reminding their elected officials that they don’t receive Social Security and that they have always contributed their share to the teacher pension fund. “No one is asking for anything extra, just what was promised,” one Hamden teacher told lawmakers.

School Counselors Advocate for Their Students As rates of anxiety and depression increase among our nation’s youth, the work of school counselors is more important than ever. “But our jobs are the first on the cutting block,” says Housatonic Valley Regional High School counselor Sharon Veatch, who joined

CEA Members Favor Community Schools Legislation Bridgeport Education Association (BEA) members have led a significant community schools effort in their city, and CEA members and staff are urging legislators to pass SB 1021: An Act Concerning A Comprehensive Community Schools Pilot Program, which would replicate that model in other districts. “I am sharing with you a vision of a comprehensive, transformative community school that is envisioned in this bill,” CEA Director of Policy, Research, and Government Relations Ray Rossomando told legislators on the Education Committee at a public hearing. “The model outlined in this bill creates an empowering environment for parents and community partners to transform schools serving our neediest students. Together with educators, stakeholders determine the unique needs of students in their school and identify the community resources available to meet those needs.” As part of its community schools initiative, BEA has reached out to families in the Harding High School community, including its feeder elementary and middle schools. CEA, with support from the National Education Association, has been working with BEA to fund the Bridgeport Educational Alliance for Public Schools to initiate community school strategies in the city. The Alliance works with parents, educators, and local organizations to identify challenges facing students and create coalitions to address them. “The 1,500 members of BEA strongly support this initiative and SB 1021,” said BEA President Gary Peluchette. “Using the community schools model allows not only teachers like me but also students and parents to really become welcome members in decision- making and policy on a school level,” said Harding High School library media specialist Laina Kominos.

Governor, Teachers Want More Educators of Color Speaking to hundreds of students at Bridgeport’s Harding High School in March, Governor Ned Lamont encouraged the city’s youth to pursue careers in teaching. “I want to make sure people know teaching is the most valuable profession in the world,” he said. A bill he has introduced aims to shrink the gap between the percentage of students of color and the percentage of teachers of color in the state. Over 40 percent of the state’s public school students are people of color, while less than 10 percent of the teaching force identifies that way. To recruit more young people to the teaching profession, Lamont’s bill calls for expanding mortgage assistance and student loan forgiveness programs.

Virginia DeLong says, “It’s important that kids across

“We support proposals that promote innovative approaches to the recruitment and retention of teachers of color in Connecticut,” said CEA Vice President Tom Nicholas. “CEA is excited to share the work we have been doing toward this goal and to engage in the development of additional innovative strategies.” CEA Vice President Tom Nicholas and Bridgeport Education Association President Gary Peluchette are encouraged by the governor’s plan to recruit more minority teachers.

School counselor Sharon Veatch talks to fellow school counselors about the need to advocate at the Capitol for their profession and their students.