All Categories - Alexandria Retired Teachers Association

VRTA Update

5/1/2018

Legislative information from VRTA:
Below is a summary of the 2018 General Assembly’s education legislation that was given out at our VRTA Spring meeting. Note the paragraph discussing the Employee Retirement Security & Pension Reform Commission on the first page. In 2016 the General Assembly funded the Commission for four years. Their lack of action this past session is unprecedented in recent history. It is not known if or when the Commission will be revived.
The General Assembly has not yet passed a budget. It reconvenes on May 14, 2018. This would be a good time to let your Senator or Delegate know your thoughts about VRS retirement for new teachers, and that the teacher’s portion of VRS has not been fully funded for the past 25 years.

vrta_spring_meeting_2018.pdf
File Size:	979 kb
File Type:	pdf

VRTA UPDATE

2/4/2018

"The easiest way to find information on the current VIRGINIA COMMISSION ON EMPLOYEE REFORM SECURITY AND PENSION REFORM (aka VIRGINIA PENSION REFORM COMMISSION) is to Google “Virginia pension commission.” Look under "meetings" to find the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) presentation to the VIRGINIA PENSION REFORM COMMISSION on September 18, 2017. Note that the VIRGINIA PENSION REFORM COMMISSION meetings are often not announced or recorded in a timely fashion. The date and time of their meetings, in some instances, have been changed at the last minute.

http://www.varetire.org/stress test This is part of the report given by VRS to the VIRGINIA PENSION REFORM COMMISSION on September 18, 2017. It states that the General Assembly has not fully funded the Virginia Retired Teachers Association (VRTA, part of VRS) for the past 25 years. Therefore, VRTA has not had the unfunded money to invest, thereby losing profit for 25 years. By the year 2043, the General Assembly will have paid back the unfunded money to VRTA. The $74.4 billion that VRS earned in 2017 would have been much higher if VRTA had been fully funded. Last year the General Assembly paid back in full and ahead of schedule the $193 million that it borrowed from VRTA 2010-2012.

The Richmond Times Dispatch prints articles about VRS in the summer after the Freedom of Information Act can be processed from the previous General Assembly session. Below are three articles concerning the 2017 session.

Questions to ask your legislator:
What is the total amount of money not funded to VRTA for the past 25 years?
Why was the expectation of VRS annual returns of the stock market reduced from 7.5% to 7% as of 2010?
Why does VRS pay its money managers millions of dollars in salary and bonuses when the same or better results can be obtained by simply investing in the stocks using the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index?
How will the Hybrid Plan for new teachers affect VRTA solvency in the future?
What will happen in 2043 when the unfunded liability of the General Assembly to VRS will be paid off?

https://virginiageneralassembly.gov is the website for the General Assembly."

Richmond Times Dispatch Articles (click on title for articles)

AARP Update

11/16/2016

AARP is requesting support for the Seniors Tax Hike Prevention Act!

From their website -
The last thing that sick, older Americans need right now is a tax hike – but that's exactly what some of the oldest and sickest taxpayers will get unless Congress takes action before January 1.

Right now, the Senate is considering the bipartisan Seniors Tax Hike Prevention Act, which would delay an increase in the income threshold over which Americans 65+ can deduct their medical expenses by two years. Will you help us make sure that it passes into law?

To take action by sending a letter to your Senator, click on the link below.
Tell your Senator to co-sponsor the Seniors Tax Hike Prevention Act!

State Legislative Update

5/6/2016

The following was submitted to ARTA by past president Judy McConville, based on information from Bea Morris, Legislative Chair, VRTA.

This past session of the General Assembly was relatively mild in terms of legislation affecting teachers. However, it is important to note that The Commission on Employee Retirement Security and Pension Reform was established(HB665). This Commission will “ study and make recommendations relating to the financial soundness of retirement plans, the suitability of retirement, and attributes that will be suitable for future employees, the impact on state and local governments of the retirement of experienced employees between 2016 and 2026 and the strategies for replacing those employees, elements of compensation and benefits packages essential to attracting and retaining a highly productive state and local government workforce.”
The Commission will be made up of 11 members of the General assembly and 8 non legislative citizens and 2 state officials. VEA will have a voting representative on the committee. Other non legislative members include: Virginia Association of Counties, Virginia Municipal League, Virginia Governmental Employees Association, Virginia Sheriffs Association, and the Virginia State Police Association. The cost for this Commission including statistical analyses, actuaries, etc, will be paid by the VRS. I raised a question as to why no retired members were included in this Commission, since the cost of this is to be borne by VRS. I was told there is a “possibility” that a retired member “might” be included. I intend to follow up on this.
Another Commission, set up through (SJ85) provides for a joint 13 member Senate and House study of the future of public elementary and secondary education. This study was deemed necessary because of “wide array of education-related legislative proposals during each regular session of the General Assembly.” It goes on to say that “many education-related legislative proposals require more discussion and study than the committees are able to devote during a regular GA session.” As a result, the General Assembly needs “to jointly examine innovative education reforms and emerging education issues on a year round basis” because “public elementary and secondary education in the Commonwealth will benefit from a deliberate, thoughtful, coordinated and year round approach to legislative education reform.”
This group will include representatives from the Department of Education, the Standards and Learning Innovation Committee, The VEA, the Virginia Association of Counties, the Virginia Municipal League, the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals, the Virginia Association of Secondary Principals, the Virginia Association of School Superintendents, the Virginia School Board Association and other “interested stakeholders as deemed appropriate.“ Again, I asked about retired teacher representation. We shall see. This could be a very interesting group, and all teachers should be aware of its activities.

VRS Update

2/4/2016

Recent information regarding VRS petition -

I just wanted to update everyone on the progress of the VRS petition. We received signed petitions from 15 retired teacher units and from individuals from all around Virginia. The signed petitions were mailed Monday to the VRS Board of Trustees, Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations committees, Speaker of the House, and to the delegates and senators from each units general assembly districts. Attached is a copy of the cover letter which was included with the petition.

It would be helpful if your members followed up with their State delegate and senator to encourage them to support the requested revision of the VRS excessive pay.

Thank you very much for your members' participation in this petition. Let's hope we get a good response from our elected and appointed leaders. I'll keep you updated as we go through this process.

Bonnie Mann, President
Roanoke City Retired Educators Association

Click this link to see the cover letter: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=9E9597B06211F7E8!327&authkey=!AKrdEFzhg6a65LI&ithint=file%2cdocx

Update from NCSS

12/7/2015

Recent news from the National Council for the Social Studies -
Overview from Catriona Macdonald:
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, which will replace No Child Left Behind. The Senate is expected to vote on and pass the same bill this coming Tuesday. From there, it will be sent to the President, who is expected to sign it.
The legislation re-writes federally funded K-12 education programs.
And there is good news for the social studies! The bill contains multiple funding sources for history, civics, economics and geography.
As you know, all designated funding for the social studies was eliminated five years ago when the ban on Congressional earmarks was enacted. A small grant awarded to the Center for Civic Education through the Supporting Effective Educator Development program this year represents the entire federal contribution to effective instruction in the social studies in five years. But with ESSA, that can change.
Specifically, ESSA creates:
- a competitive grant program for non-profit organizations to run intensive, 2 to 6 week long academies in American history, civics and government for high school students and for teachers.
- a competitive grant program for non-profit organizations to develop and disseminate innovative approaches to offering high quality instruction in American history, civics, government and geography for underserved students.
- local education agencies (ie, school districts) are required to use a certain percentage of their federal money on coursework that supports a well-rounded education. LEAs can choose from a list of subjects that includes history, civics, economics and geography as well as foreign languages, the arts, and other subjects.
- a new research and innovation fund is created that allows LEAs, in conjunction with non profit organizations, to apply for funding to create, implement, replicate, or take to scale entrepreneurial, evidence-based, field-initiated innovations to improve student achievement and attainment for high-need students. Innovations in teaching social studies are eligible for grants.
So what happens next?
- First, the legislation has to be passed in the Senate and signed into law by the President.
- Next, the programs authorized in the legislation have to be funded by the appropriations committee. NCSS will be sending alerts in February, when the appropriations process begins, asking everyone who cares about the social studies to contact their Senators and Representatives to urge full funding for the social studies education programs that were created in ESSA. If the grant programs are on the books, but they aren’t funded, then (obviously) there won’t be any grants.
- Funding decisions will be made by October 2016. That means that the first grants are likely to be awarded in calendar year 2017.
- Over the course of 2016, the Department of Education will prepare program guidelines and competitive criteria for the grant programs outlined in ESSA. That way, once the funding is made available, the Department will be ready to issue calls for proposals.
- The competitive funding awards will likely be made, and moneys distributed, for the first time in the second half of calendar year 2017. The change in Administrations may change that timetable a little bit
Susan Griffin
Executive Director
National Council for the Social Studies
Silver Spring MD

VRS Update

11/6/2015

Background information from Judy McConville -

As teachers we all had to contribute to the Virginia Retirement System. The money contributed was to be used as defined pensions for teachers and state workers. Recent events, however, on the state level, have created a situation of which all members of the VRS should be aware.

According to recent Roanoke Times articles (published June 23-August 23, 2015), from 2010 to 2012, the state did NOT contribute to VRS funds as promised. The state agreed to pay back the money with interest over ten years. In 2015, the state contributed $193 million to the teacher retirement fund. The state will NOT pay interest on the loan as promised. The recent $193 million payment leaves the state owing the VRS $313.2 million. In addition, during the fiscal year 2015, the VRS investment return was 4.6%, NOT the 7% that had been projected.

VRS has now stated that an incentive pay plan is necessary to hire and retain highly qualified investment staff. These investment managers are compensated as much as 30% above targeted levels. Remember, the investment staff are state employees. The seven top paid Virginia state employees were VRS officials!! The highest paid VRS employee in fiscal year 2015 had a base salary of $382,500 plus the incentive plan, which provided a salary of $930,913! I have a chart showing VRS salaries, base plus incentive which will be available online and at the October meeting. It is interesting to note that the Governor of Virginia is paid $175,000 per year while the President of the United States is paid $400,000! How much money did you make the last year YOU taught?

Edwin Burton, a former member of the VRS Board for 17 years, an economics professor at the University of Virginia “and longtime critic of its investment strategies, said the retirement system would need fewer people and generate higher returns if it simply invested more in US stocks indexed to public equity and securities funds.” (Roanoke Times, August 23, 2015). By using Burton’s measures, the VRS investments have underperformed averaging 10% annual returns over the last three years. S&P % average was 17.3%! Why is the VRS Board receiving such high salaries for such poor performance?

The Roanoke Retired Teachers Association has created a petition which they would like all retired teachers throughout the Commonwealth to sign. The petition states that Virginia retired teachers object to the bonus formula designed by the VRS Board themselves, a formula which creates excessive incentive plans. The VRS Board members are state employees, not managers of hedge funds, and should not be compensated as such.

VRS participants are encouraged to print and sign the following statement and mail it to Judy McConville, 8515 Revere Court, Annandale, VA 22003.

Demand for Revision of Bonus Formula for Virginia Retirement System
Investment Managers Fall 2015

We, the undersigned retired teachers of the Commonwealth of Virginia and members of the Virginia Retirement System (VRS), object to the excessive incentive plan, the total monies paid to the Virginia Retirement Investment Managers for the 2015 year, and the bonus formula that will grant them similar payments in the future. We think that VRS Retirement Managers enjoy the many benefits of being an independent agency of the Commonwealth and that this far outweighs the argument that bonuses should be comparable or more than those in private financial investment brokers. We think VRS needs a revision of the current bonus formula, that there should be transparent supervision from the General Assembly, and that yearly reports should include a comparison of VRS investments to that of other comparable public stock and bond indexes. As teachers of the Commonwealth, we were not given a choice or the option to opt out of belonging to VRS, and we contributed faithfully to make our retirement financially secure. We request that our hard earned life-time savings be treated with the same spirit in which they were earned.

VEA Update

10/30/2015

October 29, 2015

The November 3rd election of our 140 Delegates and Senators approaches, and to my dismay, far fewer Virginians will vote than vote in presidential or even gubernatorial elections. If you look at the last four-year cycle 71.78% of registered voters participated in the 2012 presidential election, 43% voted in the 2015 gubernatorial, but only 28.61% of registered voters showed up in 2011 when we last voted for all 140 members of the Virginia legislature.

This makes no sense, as state and local elected officials have a far greater impact on our daily lives, and the lives of our students, than our President. Look at education funding, for example: according to a September JLARC report, 6% of K-12 funding comes from federal sources, 38% from the state, and 56% comes from localities. We've really got it backwards -- more people should vote in state and local elections than federal elections. Those elections matter more!

I have served as both a recount official for the Richmond registrar, and a recount observer for statewide candidates. These two duties have driven home, in my mind, the fact that every vote counts.

The one election that haunts me is the 2005 McDonnell/Deeds race for Attorney General. After the recount, Bob McDonnell won by 323 votes. The VEA Fund supported Deeds, and if all 50,000 VEA members had voted, McDonnell would have lost, and would likely have never become governor. We would have been spared his war on teachers -- the attacks on continuing contract, the lack of meaningful progress on teacher salaries, and the reduction of pension benefits for teachers hired after 1/1/14. I remember one House of Delegates race, some years ago in Norfolk, which was decided by 8 votes! Your vote matters, and elections have consequences.

This year, the VEA Fund for Children and Public Education has recommended 29 Senate candidates and 55 House of Delegates candidates. We've backed candidates from both parties who are friends of public education. These recommendations are the result of a great deal of work on the part of your colleagues all over Virginia. They sent questionnaires to candidates, analyzed both the questionnaires and voting records, interviewed candidates, and ascertained electability. They did their best to judge which candidates will be best for public education. These recommendations are posted on the VEA website. Click here to see a list of our recommended candidates.

Our friends at the Virginia Political Access Project, VPAP, just launched a new tool. If you type in your address, it will tell you all sorts of information: where you vote, your representatives in the General Assembly, upcoming elections, newspaper articles about your community, and political donors from your ZIP code. Click here to take a test drive.

I implore, beg, and plead with you to go to the polls on November 3rd. Your vote could make all the difference in the upcoming General Assembly session and the sessions ahead.

Thank you,
Robley Jones
VEA GR&R

NEA Update

9/15/2015

Education Insider - September 11, 2015

Topics include -

Congress is back!
Keep pushing for final action on ESEA
Tell Congress to make a budget deal
Child nutrition bill to be marked up next week

AARP Update

7/20/2015

AARP Praises Passage of Bipartisan Older Americans Act in Senate

Now it just needs to be passed in the House of Representatives, but this is a good beginning.