AWSP Blog

Since covering pension/retirement/health insurance issues on behalf of WASA and AWSP, there are a few important points we have learned. This is just a brief summary of selected retirement related topics. One needs to check with the Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) and the Health Care Authority (HCA) for definitive answers to questions about their own situation. Policies change so this document is just a broad overview highlighting some issues.  The importance of advance planning cannot be overstated. These are not issues to put off until the last months of either one’s impending retirement or approaching Medicare eligible age. Start by requesting an official benefit estimate from DRS 3-12 months prior to your retirement date.

Since covering pension/retirement/health insurance issues on behalf of WASA and AWSP, there are a few important points we have learned. This is just a brief summary of selected retirement related topics. One needs to check with the Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) and the Health Care Authority (HCA) for definitive answers to questions about their own situation. Policies change so this document is just a broad overview highlighting some issues.  The importance of advance planning cannot be overstated. These are not issues to put off until the last months of either one’s impending retirement or approaching Medicare eligible age. Start by requesting an official benefit estimate from DRS 3-12 months prior to your retirement date.

AWSP has always advocated strongly for principals, but we've turned up the efforts to 11. For the past four years, principals and assistant principals across the state have seen workloads go up and pay gaps (aka wage compression) shrink. Some of your principals and APs reading this probably make less money per year than some of the teachers in your building. Even more of you might make less on a per diem basis. Between this narrowing pay gap, the massive amounts of additional responsibilities, and the 60-hour, 6-day work week (the statewide averages in our past survey) the system is out of balance. Good principals are leaving and future leaders are wondering if the sacrifices are worth it. We addressed these out-of-balance expectations and disappearing pay gaps with the document linked at the end of this blog post; it's our letter and proposal to the K-12 Basic Education Compensation Advisory Committee.

Dear Principals, This year’s Basic Education Funding Bill has given your school an unprecedented opportunity to update a significant capital resource: your library. Substitute Senate Bill 6362designated for library materials in the Basic Education Funding bill created a $20/FTE line item for libraries.

In a unanimous ruling, the State Supreme Court ruled the Legislature is in contempt by failing to provide an ample funding for basic education, the State's paramount duty according to the state constitution. The Court has given the Legislature until the end of the 2015 session to come up with a solution.