A controversial rule change by the Social Security Administration was discussed at the regular meeting of the New Franklin school board Wednesday.
On another statewide issue, school board members voted 5 to 2 to continue participating in a lawsuit which seeks to force the state to more fairly distribute funds to school districts.
Teachers’ pension issues discussed
As reported in Wednesday’s Fayette Advertiser, the Social Security Administration notified Missouri schools that on July 1 they must begin withholding Social Security tax from some educators’ paychecks.
Currently, school personnel who have a teacher’s certificate do not pay into Social Security, but rather into the Public School Retirement System. Upon retiring, teachers receive a pension from the PSRS.
But if the Social Security rule change is implemented some of certificated staff will have to pay into the PSRS and Social Security.
Affected positions are still not explicitly defined by Social Security, but administrators generally believe that directors, coordinators, Title I instructors, and preschool teachers may be impacted.
The result would be less take-home pay and a decreased retirement benefit.
New Franklin Superintendent Jeanie Gordon is critical of SSA’s decision to require payments from “new” positions in education, such as preschool teachers and A+ School coordinators. “While they were doing that, they added extra duty pay, career ladder pay, and a host of other teacher-related positions,” Gordon wrote in an e-mail Monday. “I am totally opposed to the new interpretation of who is a teacher and eligible for PSRS benefits.”
Gordon estimated that a teacher who earned $5,000 for extra duty such as coaching or career ladder, would lose $312 each month in PSRS benefits. She added that the social security benefit would not make up for the lost PSRS benefit.
She told board members that to distinguish which teacher duties should be deducted by Social Security and which duties should be deducted by PSRS would be “a personnel nightmare.” She gave an example of a band teacher who conducts marching practice from 7 to 8 a.m., and then teaches music from 8 to 3 p.m. “Would the compensation for marching practice be through Social Security while the classroom music teaching be through PSRS?”, Gordon wondered aloud.
Given lawmakers’ support for exempting all certified staff from Social Security, Gordon hopes that the rule change will not be implemented.
‘Educational Equity’ lawsuit
With five voting for and two voting against, the NF board approved continuing to participate in a lawsuit which seeks to force the state to more equitably distribute state funds to schools, especially in rural areas.
Gordon recommended the board stay involved in the lawsuit as a “commitment to a philosophy.” She noted that some rural schools receive about $7,000 per pupil, while some school districts around Kansas City and St. Louis receive $15,000 per pupil.
Darren Harris, who was joined by Travis Hundley in voting against continued participation, said, “I think it’s a waste of money.”
Following the vote to continue supporting the lawsuit, New Franklin Schools will pay $227 (50 cents per pupil) to the Committee for Educational Equality, the organization leading the lawsuit.
Two board seats open for re-election
Two board seats, currently held by Darren Harris and Kathy Wilmsmeyer, will be up for re-election in April the board learned. Persons wishing to file as candidates may do so at the superintendent’s office from Dec. 16 to Jan. 20.
In other business, the school board:
• Learned that Elementary Principal Pam Chitwood is on maternity leave. Middle School/High School Principal David Haggard has been doubling as elementary principal.
Upcoming events:
• Elementary Winter music program, Dec. 11.
• Elementary and Middle School spelling bee, Dec. 12.
• Middle School Holiday Dance, Dec. 12.
• Middle School/High School Winter music program, Dec. 18.
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