Quolke’s Corner July 30, 2017
Welcome back to another school year. It’s hard to believe August 9th is right around the corner, but also harder to believe we have a number of extended year and year-round schools that have already started their school. Before we get too far into the school year, I want to wish everyone a successful and rewarding school year. With our new Collective Bargaining Agreement in place, we are committed to working with CEO Gordon and his team on tackling the many challenges we have in front of us. As everyone knows, starting the school year off on the right foot is critical to a successful year and we hope to continue to maintain a strong labor management approach to problem solving issues as we move through the school year.
As everyone wraps up their summer schedules, I wanted to remind members of a few important issues that everyone needs to be aware of.
FIRST PAY DATE OF 2017-18 SCHOOL YEAR AND 24 PAY CONVERSION.
This school year is scheduled to be the last year our CTU members are on 20 or 26 pays. Our new CBA calls for July and August of 2018 to be the months we begin transitioning to an annual 24 pay cycle which will be on the 5th and the 20th of each month. For this school year, originally August 18, 2017 was to be our first paycheck (hence the 3 week gap in pay) and August 3, 2018 is tentatively scheduled to be the last pay date for the 2017-18 School Year with August 20th the first pay date of the 2018-19 School year. This was a lengthy conversation in negotiations and one of the final issues resolved in February. However, I do have some good news that I think everyone will appreciate. Since our CBA does allow for modifications to these pay dates, CEO Eric Gordon asked the CTU if they could modify the August 18th date and pay all CTU members on August 11th. I assured CEO Gordon that our members would be happy with that change, but we did need to make sure if members did not receive a check they could have a paper check processed if requested. We are working that process out but all of our members can expect a pay check on August 11th!!
HEALTHCARE/WELLNESS:
I know we have communicated this out repeatedly but we really can’t reiterate this enough. If you plan on participating in the District’s voluntary Wellness Program and taking advantage of reduced monthly healthcare premiums there are a couple very important and time sensitive items you need to be aware of:
*You (and if applicable your spouse) have the option to participate in the District’s Wellness Program and pay less toward your monthly contribution to the healthcare premium.
*To participate in this program and receive the savings, you must, by October 31st, file with Hylant (an independent third party), a completed “Physician Certification Form”—a copy of which can be downloaded and printed at the CMSD website at: http://clevelandmetroschools.org/Domain/3724.
*In order to complete this Form, you must:
Have an annual screening, which includes, at a minimum: (i) cholesterol screening; (ii) glucose screening; (iii) blood pressure screening; and (iv) your body mass index (BMI); and
Complete the CMSD Health Risk Assessment: a copy of which can be downloaded and printed at: http://clevelandmetroschools.org/Domain/3724) and submit that completed CMSD Health Risk Assessment to your healthcare professional.
*Have your healthcare professional sign and date the “Physician Certification Form”. Email or mail the “Physician Certification Form” to the address on the form.
NOTE: Completing the Form does not require a physical, but only a screening and the completion of the CMSD Health Risk Assessment.
*The person signing the form can be a physician or a nurse practitioner or a physician’s assistant (but not a registered nurse). Do not submit the CMSD Health Risk Assessment to Hylant when you submit the Physician Certification Form. Once you share it with your physician you can destroy it or keep it but do not submit the Health Risk Assessment form to Hylant.
As you read this, I am hoping most CTU who chose to participate in the voluntary Wellness Program have already either (1) completed their medical appointment and had their Physician sign the Physician Certification Form. If you are new to the district and are not yet enrolled in CMSD Healthcare but are currently covered under another healthcare plan, you can have these screenings done now or wait until you CMSD healthcare kicks in.
Remember, November is open enrollment. ALL CMSD employees will need to once again sign up for healthcare during November. The Physician Certification Form must be submitted by October 31, 2017. New employees who start on Aug. 9th will be eligible for Healthcare on October 1, 2017. While they still must sign up during the open enrollment period, the District will give new employees a 60 day window from the date their healthcare kicks in to complete the annual screening and Health Risk Assessment
CTU OFFICES CLOSED AUGUST 4TH AND AUGUST 7TH
Finally, the CTU is moving our office space from the 6th Floor of the Halle Building to the 3rd Floor of the Halle Building. We will be closing the office on Friday, August 4th through Monday, August 7th. If you need to contact our office, please use emails
Take care and I hope everyone had a relaxing and rewarding summer break.
In Union,
David