CEA Advisor_April 2022

ADVOCATING

SECTION HEADER APRIL 2022 CEA ADVISOR 7

PANDEMIC SERVICE CREDIT, FINANCIALLY DISTRESSED COMMUNITIES TEACHING CREDIT CEA has proposed awarding additional service time to every teacher who worked through the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years. “This measure recognizes that these years of working in the pandemic have been particularly taxing, particularly challenging, and continue to be some of the most stressful,” said CEA President Kate Dias in testimony before legislators. “It would serve as an acknowledgement of how incredibly difficult the last two years have been for our educators.” CEA also supports bonus credited years of service for educators in financially distressed communities, which would allow districts with chronic teacher shortages to attract and retain educators, ensuring continuity for students and decreasing the high costs and consequences of teacher turnover. “What we don’t want to see is people who commit five or 10 years to a chronically underfunded district, who love these communities, and then have to abandon them because when they get closer to retirement, they want to see that wage increase,” Dias told lawmakers. “We’re looking at creative ways to incentivize and keep people in those districts.” HEALTH INSURANCE SUBSIDY FOR RETIRED TEACHERS Testifying before legislators, CEA-Retired President WilliamMurray and CEA Retirement Specialist Robyn Kaplan-Cho urged lawmakers to increase the health insurance subsidy amount for all retired educators. Murray, who serves as vice chair of the State Teachers’ Retirement Board, pointed out that an increase to the health insurance subsidy for retired teachers is long overdue, as subsidy amounts were set 26 years ago and have not been raised since, even as health insurance costs have more than doubled. “I encourage you to amend this proposal to raise the subsidy to $220 per month for retired teachers under age 65 to purchase insurance coverage from their former school districts and to $440 per month for retired teachers age 65 and over who do not qualify for Medicare,” he said. In her testimony, Kaplan-Cho shared examples of monthly premium costs, ranging from $983.16 to $1,144.48 for a single retired teacher and $1,968.04 to $2,581.58 for a married teacher and spouse. “While they were actively employed,

LEGISLATIVE CHAMPIONS In addition to being outspoken advocates on the floor of the House and Senate for greater mental health resources, improved indoor air quality, and other assistance for public schools, several legislators have participated in CEA’s What You Don’t See social media campaign, Two T’s in a Pod podcast, and other efforts to rally colleagues’ support for key legislation this session. State Representative Robin Comey, who represents Branford, says, “I’ve seen what it looks like when a district invests in students’ mental health. There’s a dedicated social worker for every grade, a school psychologist, dedicated family liaisons, a team of school counselors in a school-based health center with clinicians who care about our kids. I look forward to a day when all of our school districts have the mental health resources they need, and this is our opportunity to pass legislation to help our students.” Representative Comey lent her voice to CEA’s What You Don’t See campaign and Two T’s in a Pod podcast. State Representative Jonathan Steinberg has been advocating for improvements to ensure all Connecticut schools have healthy, well- ventilated classrooms. Representing Westport, which has had a serious West Hartford teacher Ellen Eickenhorst, shown here with CEA Political Engagement Coordinator Gus Melita, submits postcards asking legislators for more mental health supports and better indoor air quality for students.

these retirees paid a contribution of 1.25 % of their salary into the retired teachers’ health fund fromwhich this subsidy is paid, yet they have not seen an increase in the subsidy since 1996,” Kaplan-Cho said. “Clearly, a 26-year freeze is too long. Even with the doubling of the subsidy, retiree health costs may still be prohibitively expensive, but at least it is a step in the right direction.” In written testimony submitted to legislators, a retired teacher fromRegional School District 15 explained that she

CEA Retirement Specialist Robyn Kaplan-Cho has called for an increase in the health insurance subsidy for retired teachers.

receives no subsidy from her district to help cover medical expenses. “My out-of-pocket expenses for reported medical benefits for 2021 were $11,371.24. This is a true hardship for me, and I am going into a lot of credit card debt to cover my monthly expenses.” Murray and Kaplan-Cho also spoke out in opposition to a proposal that would place the Teachers’ Retirement Board under the Comptroller’s Office for administrative purposes. “Despite being understaffed for many years, the TRB continues to do an excellent job administering the pension and retiree health programs,” Kaplan-Cho said. “In recent years, they have improved their member response times, and revamped and expanded their website to provide increased online services for active and retired teachers, among other important improvements. And their administrative cost per member continues to be one of the lowest in the country.”

Rep. Robin Comey sits down with CEA’s Joslyn DeLancey and Kate Dias to talk about the need for greater investments in our schools.

mold problem in one of its schools, Steinberg understands the health risks facing students and teachers. As chair of the legislature’s Public Health Committee, he has made the issue a top priority and has voiced his support of CEA’s campaign. “The pandemic brought the issue to a whole new level that should be addressed this session,” he said. “It’s our responsibility to make sure that students have a safe learning environment and teachers have a safe teaching environment.” Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, who represents Norwalk and part of Darien, added his voice to the conversation in a recently aired CEA podcast. “It’s a short session, but it’s just going to make us work even harder than we normally do to get things done for people in the state of Connecticut. In the Senate Democratic caucus, we have a number of bills that are really important—they impact teachers and education in a very positive way. I’ve supported building new schools in Norwalk, because we’ve had 40 years of schools that look the same as when I went to school here. That’s not right. They’re not updated, they’re old and tired, and they need to be updated. They’re not proper school environments for kids. There’s a lot of work to do—it’s getting the will to do it.”

$11,371 ONE RETIRED TEACHER’S OUT-OF-POCKET MEDICAL EXPENSES FOR 2021

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