The Basics of Medicare from MPSERS & Blue Cross Blue Shield
Executive Director’s Blog: The need for certified subs in classrooms
Knowing that many of you continue to be concerned about quality education in Michigan, I wanted to draw your attention to a study done recently by Bridge Magazine, a respected publication which follows education policy issues. The study, titled “No Substitute,” suggests the state could reduce its reliance on long-term, uncertified substitutes and says a majority of the public supports that move.
The study also mentions that the public supports a change in state law so that retired teachers can substitute teach without diminished retirement benefits.
It’s a fact that many Michigan school districts rely on uncertified, long-term substitute teachers to fill classroom vacancies. MARSP supports the recruitment of well-trained substitutes, along with pay and benefits that attract more full-time teachers to schools in the first place.
MARSP knows that to provide the best education possible, teachers should know the science of education and best teaching practices. Last August, a Bridge Magazine article noted that uncertified substitute teachers were being used long-term in more than 2,500 classrooms across the state.
Certified teachers have a bachelor’s degree with student teaching experience, which is not required of long-term substitutes. Last year we reported in VANGUARD that the average substitute teacher hired from EduStaff – the state’s largest provider of subs – was a 44-year-old working mother who was not state-certified.
Many would-be substitute teachers have found better-paying jobs in other industries. Also, state law has made it more costly for schools to hire retired teachers as substitutes.
Adding to the teacher shortage issue is the decrease in students pursuing education degrees. Where young people frequently sought out teaching as a career, there are fewer graduates now. Our state needs to encourage young people to see teaching as a chance to make a difference and also to keep teacher salaries and benefits competitive with other industries. Those who do graduate with teaching degrees are much more likely to get full-time teaching jobs right of college rather than substitute part-time.
Two years ago, MARSP and its members helped fight back a stated plan to weaken teacher pension and health care benefits. Teachers are the life-blood of our public education system. While it can be difficult to recruit and retain certified teachers, it’s essential for our students and the success of our next generation.
To read the Bridge article, “No substitute,” click here.
VANGUARD – Winter 2020
This content is available for MARSP members only. Become a member today to view the article or login
Opinion: Michigan lawmakers need to make good on retirement promises for school personnel
Opinion: Michigan lawmakers need to make good on retirement promises for school personnel
Read Executive Director Royce Humm’s full op-ed in Bridge Magazine: https://www.bridgemi.com/guest-commentary/opinion-retirement-must-be-factored-considering-teacher-salaries
VANGUARD – Fall 2019
This content is available for MARSP members only. Become a member today to view the article or login
Priority Health announces 2019 informational meeting schedule
Priority Health is offering free sessions designed to answer your questions about your 2020 plan options, everything from travel coverage to prescription benefits. Medicare and Pre-Medicare will be covered. You can join in-person or online via webinar this year. They’ll be coming to six cities across Michigan in October.
Click to register: www.priorityhealth.com/mpsers2020
10/1/2019 in Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo RESA Service Center (Wile Auditorium)
1819 E Millham Ave
Portage, MI 49002
10/2/2019 in Grand Rapids
Kent ISD (Conference Center Lower Level)
1633 East Beltline NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
10/3/2019 in Holland
Priority Health
250 E 8th St
Holland, MI 49424
10/7/2019 in Traverse City
Traverse City ISD
1101 Red Drive
Traverse City, MI 49684
10/8/2019 in Oakland
Priority Health
27777 Franklin Rd
Southfield, MI 48034
10/11/2019 in Romulus
Courtyard by Marriott
30653 Flynn Dr
Romulus, MI 48174
10/24/2019 online webinar 11 am – 12 pm
Opinion: Don’t kick teacher pension can ahead to fund roads
Opinion: Don’t mess with school pension debt to find road money
This op-ed originally appeared in Detroit Free Press on September 1, 2019:
The author of this guest column is executive director of the Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel.
Lawmakers in Lansing deserve kudos for acknowledging that upgrading Michigan’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure is a pressing priority. However, they should tread carefully to ensure that any funding plan they devise doesn’t weaken the foundation of the public school employees retirement system — which is what some proposals floating around the Capitol have the potential to do.
The funding concepts being discussed would reverse the recent momentum that has put the state-administered pension fund for Michigan public school retirees on firmer ground.
Some background: During the past decade, the state has forged a solid plan to reduce the “unfunded liabilities” of the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (MPSERS) pension fund. Unfunded liabilities are the difference between what the pension fund holds in assets and what it owes to retirees.
Under the current, fiscally-responsible plan, MPSERS’ debt is on track to be paid off in 2038. We need to stay on that course, not veer off into road funding plans that are financially risky or inefficient, such as proposals under consideration now in Lansing.
One idea proposes the state borrow $10 billion by selling bonds to prefund the pension plan. The theory is that the state will invest the bond proceeds and use the earnings from those investments to make pension payments and repay the debt. At the same time, proponents contend, it would free up school tax dollars currently devoted to pay down MPSERS liabilities to help fund road improvements.
Sound complicated? It is, and it also rests on the assumption that everything goes according to plan, meaning there’s no economic contraction that causes the investment market or the state’s budget to crash.
This type of financial tool, known as a Pension Obligation Bond (POB), is risky, according the Government Finance Officers Association.
“In recent years,” the association’s website states, ‘local jurisdictions across the country have faced increased financial stress as a result of their reliance on POBs, demonstrating the significant risks associated with these instruments for both large and small governments.”
A second road-funding proposal that also would center on the pension fund is analogous to refinancing a home mortgage with only 20 years remaining to a new one with a 30-year term instead. It would extend the schedule for repaying MPSERS’ unfunded liabilities by five or 10 years. In the short term, it frees up cash flow, but over the long run, it leads to higher costs.
Delaying the MPSERS repayment schedule merely kicks the proverbial can down the road, which is one reason the existing pension debt accumulated in the first place.
To be sure, providing much-needed upgrades to Michigan’s roads and bridges is a serious and pressing matter. But it also requires serious funding solutions.
We urge lawmakers to resist relying on risky funding gimmicks that will take us off the fiscally-prudent course and potentially cost taxpayers more in the long run.
Royce Humm is executive director of Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel, which represents nearly 40,000 retired public school employees.