OEA-R Newsline Spring 2017 Edition
MISSION STATEMENT
OEA-Retired is dedicated to meeting the needs of its members, providing member involvement within OEA, and supporting public education.
2016-2017 Officers
John Hoyes, Chairperson
Bill Sears, Vice Chairperson
Peg Ham, Secretary
Carol Kinsey, Board of Directors Representative
OEA-R NEWSLINE is the official publication of OEA-Retired
Claudia Miller, Editor
OEA-R website http://oea-r.ohea.us
STRS
At the April 17 meeting of the STRS Ohio Board, the Board members voted to suspend the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for STRS beneficiaries beginning July 1, 2017. This was not a decision the Board reached quickly or easily. Their options to fill the hole that the ten billion dollar increased liability created were limited. As the Board learned between 2010 and 2012 when a situation like this occurs the more quickly it is dealt with the better it will be for the system and both actives and retirees in the future. The staff predicts that suspending the COLA will save the system $1.27 billion annually.
John Morrow provided the investment report. The market continues to improve and that is good news for the system. Currently the investment return for the year to date is approximately 10.5% which is much improved from the past few years. However, in the last month the market has become a bit more volatile due to geo-political events. There are upcoming elections in Europe that may further spook the markets prior to the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2017. Last month the Board adopted a new asset mix and Mr. Morrow indicated that those changes would be phased in over the next two years, but the bulk of it would be done in the first nine months.
Gary Russell, from the Member Benefits Department, reported that the Health Care Pathways options were no longer valid with the newly adopted assumptions. The various Pathways solvency was no longer accurate. Based on revised solvency projections, significantly extending solvency will require changes to the subsidy methodology for Medicare enrollees. New options and their new solvency levels will be provided at the May meeting of the STRS Ohio Board.
Greg Nichols, from the Member Benefits Department, reported that a preliminary 2018 review indicates the following: claims experience (2015 and 2016) was better than projected, 2018 CMS Medicare Advantage subsidies will increase 0.45% based on final 2018 CMS advance notice, and the health insurer fee will be reinstated in 2018 under the current law (approximately a $25 million impact for Aetna Medicare Plan).
Given the above indications, premium increases are expected to be at or below Segal’s projection because of the favorable claims experience from 2015 and 2016. Staff’s recommendation would be to keep plans largely unchanged for 2018.
Submitted by STRS Observer Rita Walters
CONTACT YOUR RETIREMENT SYSTEM
STRS 1-888-227-7877 or www.strsoh.org
SERS 1-800-878-5853 or www.ohsers.org
OPERS 1-800-222-7377 or www.opers.org
ELECTION RESULTS
The following were elected as retired delegates to the 2017 NEA Convention and NEA-R Annual Meeting: William Dorsey, Bill Sears, Marilyn Allen, Don Traxler, Carol Kinsey, Homer Adams, Becky Mayer, and Chris Swank.
Jane Rahn was elected as At-Large Advisory Council Representative for a three-year term. Elected to three-year terms as District Representatives are Mary Binegar (Central) and Jane Miller (SEOEA).
Submitted by Vice Chairperson Bill Sears
DISTRICT REPORTS
CAPITAL: On June 6 we will go to the Maritime Museum, the Merry-Go-Round Museum, and the Firelands Winery. Our Annual Meeting will be held on June 21 at the Boat House. Officer and Board Member elections will be held. We will hear the CEA-R Notes and see Annette Jefferson, who will assume the roles of Harriet Tubman and other black women during the Civil War. Other dates: July 13 at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum in Sullivant Hall and August 8 at the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson. Participants will visit the displays and box lunches will be provided.
The annual NEA-Retired Organizing Conference was held March 21-23 in Dallas. Capital was represented by Marilyn Allen and Jeff Corbin. Some topics concerned recruitment of retired members, Social Security, Medicare, and Racial Justice in Education.
Submitted by District Representative Jeff Corbin
CENTRAL: Central OEA/NEA Retired had a successful year. The intergenerational mentoring program was successful at both the Ohio State and Ohio University/Lancaster campuses. Our fundraiser for the non-dues fund set a new record. Our social events were well attended. Two members, Will Vickery and Mary Binegar, attended the NEA-R Organizing Conference in Dallas in March. We completed the year participating in the New Educator Campaign and hope to see an even greater involvement in the project next year. If you are not receiving our newsletter or would like more information about getting involved, please contact Mary Binegar at binegm@aol.com.
Submitted by District Representative Mary Binegar
ECOEA: Tuesday, March 28, 2017, our ECOEA District Retirement Training was held at the Canton Professional Education Association Office facilitated by Kathleen Purdy. This training was to support the New Educator Program funded by the OEA-Retired Grant. Eight retired members placed 204 calls to our New Educators from ECOEA.
As many of you are aware, Kathleen Purdy has served in our Association as your voice well into retirement status and is looking forward to ending her term on the Advisory Council, with perfect attendance. Thank you so much for being such great members to support her leadership and vision. Come say hello/goodbye at the 11:30 a.m. August 16 “Not Back to School Luncheon” inside Mulligan’s, 4118 Belden Village St. NW, Canton. No need to RSVP!
Submitted by District Representative Kathleen Purdy
EOEA: We sponsored a pre-retired conference on Monday, March 27, 2017, at Theo’s Restaurant in Cambridge, Ohio. We were limited to fifty because of the size of the room and we had to turn away registrants. John Buch from STRS was the presenter. Rita Walters provided an update of the assumptions that the STRS Board had adopted at the March Board meeting. She also informed attendees of the upcoming STRS Board Election for the open active seat encouraging members to support Carol Correthers. Attendees were also informed that no election was required for the two open retiree seats.
Submitted by District Representative Rita Walters
NCOEA We held a meeting on March 27 at Der Dutchman Restaurant. Membership lists were reviewed and updated. Discussion was held on the vision and purpose of NCOEA-R. We are looking for a member to create an NCOEA-R website. If interested, please contact Judy Novak. We plan to open up our activities and social functions to all Retired Teachers residing in the NCOEA District. Possible future activities include: Haunted Halloween at the old Reformatory, The Carousel and Children’s Museums, Holiday Brunch and a trip to the Race Track. We hope you bring more ideas to our meetings. Our next “Not Back to School” Brunch /meeting will be held August 15 at Der Dutchman Restaurant, 720 OH-97 Bellville. For more NCOEA-R information contact me at jar4439@gmail.com.
Submitted by District Representative Judy Novak
NEOEA: We sponsored three classes in the highly successful NEOEA Megaconference the morning of February 25. Following lunch everyone attending was invited to stay for our pre-retired workshop. In March we continued our participation in NEA’s Read Across America by readjng with several hundred students across northeast Ohio. We continued our tradition of leaving a Dr. Seuss book for the children to enjoy afterward. During March and April NEOEA-R sponsored several lunches across our district. The purpose of these is to provide a more personal communication among our retired members and to promote communication between retired members with their leaders within the association. Members were asked to bring a retired educator who is not an OEA-R member so they could experience our group. At end of April over forty-five eager learners enjoyed our Retired Spring Conference.
Submitted by District Representative Marsh Buckley
NWOEA: The NWOEA-R pre-Retirement workshop for members took place on March 27 at the Findlay Hancock Public Library. The subjects covered were STRS, NEA Benefits and legal issues such as wills and trusts, etc. Twenty-six members attended. Thanks to NWOEA-R members who assisted: Roberta Neff, Ilsa Goertz, and Laura Haroon.
The OEAR Spring Conference took place on April 26, we want to thank those who attended and Judy Novak and Tina Adams for helping with the organization of the conference. The NWOEA-R committee is working on contacting all new teachers in NW District to help them in their beginning years to see what support they need from OEA and their veteran and experienced teachers.
Submitted by District Representative Sue Cramer
SEOEA: Our 3rd annual SEOEA-R LUNCHEON will be held at the Best Western Motel in Marietta on Thursday, November 9. The hotel will provide a set menu of 8 items and will make rooms available to our attendees for $60 + tax. We will collect and share information about the special Marietta activities our attendees could enjoy the day before or after our conference. Details will be posted on our SEOEA-R website at http://seoea-r.ohea.us/ as soon as the Program Committee has completed their work. Information will also be published in the August 16th NEWSLINE and our Fall SEOEA-R e-NEWS.
Christine McVicar thanks SE’s Retired Members for the opportunity to represent them. Jane Miller will assume these duties when her term begins on September 1.
Submitted by District Representative Christine McVicar
SWOEA: Our General Meeting is scheduled for May 16 at the SWOEA office with a presentation on Fraud Protection, an update on STRS, and information on the New Educator Program. On March training was held on how we, as SWOEA-retirees, could participate in the New Educator Program. Those attending received packets.
Bill Sears and Judy Buschle represented SWOEA-R at the 2017 NEA-Retired Organizing Conference in Dallas on March 21-23. The featured guest speaker was NEA Vice President Becky Pringle who presented the NEA Board of Directors Report on “Racial Justice in Education.”
SWOEA-R was well represented by Bill Sears, Judy Buschle, Deloris Rome-Hudson and Cathy Dixon at the Spring OEA-R conference held in Mansfield.
Submitted by District Representative Judy Buschle
WOEA: Sandy Dobberstein, Jane Rahn, and Phil A. Long are attending UniServ Council meetings and finding active members very receptive. All Locals in WOEA have been asked to send the names, address, email, and phone number of 2015 – 2017 retirees to WOEA. All active WOEA members are encouraged to join WOEA-R as a pre-retired member for $100.
WOEA-R celebrated Read Across America with readers Kay Piper, Yolanda Unger, and Willie Terrell in Dayton: Carol Hone and Kay Klopfleisch in Celina; and Val Roldan at Wright-Pat. WOEA-R purchased books and WOEA furnished bookplates to present to the classroom. Check it out on www.woea.org
Donations to FCPE totaled $747 September – March. Members seem excited to participate in the year-long project vying for a Taco Dinner donated by Sophia Rodriguez and Phil A. Long.
The last meeting of the year, June 21, will begin at the Packard Museum then proceed to the Spaghetti Warehouse for lunch and meeting. The drawing for the Taco Dinner will be held at this meeting.
Submitted by District Representative Phil Long
ALLIANCE FOR RETIRED AMERICANS
The Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA) is a national group of retirees composed of labor unions that share the same concerns. Marilyn Allen and Tom Beck represent OEA-R on the council.
Both the national and state alerts the membership of current concerns by e-mail and US mail including Aware, a monthly newsletter. Additional information is available at the website and on Facebook
Conferences also serve to alert members to current issues. The Spring Conference held on April 11 was attended by OEA-R members: Marilyn Allen, Tom Beck, Mary Binegar, Sue Cramer, John Hoyes, Judy Novak, and Delores Rome-Hudson. Topics discussed were: Right to Work and the State of Ohio Budget in relation to senior services, Medicare and Medicaid uses, and distribution of materials to urge “Keep it Made in America”. For more information, contact mrasecond@yahoo.com
Submitted by Marilyn Allen
OEA-R Summer Academy
The OEA-R Summer Academy will be held at the OEA Headquarters in the Media Center on Tuesday, June 20, 2017. This event is limited to 45 participants (on a first come, first serve basis) and registrations must be received no later than 4 p.m. on Friday, June 2, 2017. There is NO cost for participation!
Please use the link below to make your reservation
https://form.jotform.us/71104102600130
8:00: Registration
8:30 – 9:45: Session 1, New Educator Initiative
9:45 – 10:00: Break
10:00 – 11:30: Session 2, Current Issues in Education
11:30 – 1:30: Lunch at Hilton with OEA Summer Academy participants
1:30 – 3:00: Legislative Issues
3:00 – 3:15: Break
3:15 – 4:45: STRS
4:45 – 5:00: Evaluation and Dismissal
OEA-R STATEWIDE FALL CONFERENCE
September 14, 2017
Save the Date and Register Now
STRS Building, 7th Floor
275 East Broad Street
Columbus OH 43215
Morning speakers include the OEA Officers, OEA Executive Director Sheryl Mathis, and speakers from the retirement systems. Other interesting and informational sessions are being planned.
The afternoon will be devoted to a presentation on Social Justice, an issue facing students and society in general.
Note: FREE Parking is provided at the STRS building.
REGISTRATION: 9:30 a.m.
PROGRAM: 10:00 a.m.
LUNCH: 12:00 p.m.
PROGRAM 12:45-2:45
CONCLUSION: 3:00 p.m.
Complete and return the registration form (below) with your $15.00 registration fee by September 2nd to be eligible for door prizes. Lunch is included in the fee. You will be notified by email once your payment is received. Mail form and payment to:
OHIO EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
STATEWIDE FALL CONFERENCE
P.O. Box 2550
Columbus, Ohio 43216-2550
ATTN: Todd Jaeck
—————————————————————————————————–September 14, 2017
Save the Date and Register Now
NAME _____________________________
___________________________________
ADDRESS __________________________
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CITY/STATE/ZIP _____________________
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EMAIL ADDRESS ____________________
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OEA DISTRICT ______________________ |
