New! 2013-14 Travel Reimbursement Information

Beginning July 1, 2013, the Agency is making changes to its travel reimbursement limits. For out-of-area and out-of-state travel, the meal per diem limits are as follows: 
• Out-of-Area In-State - Overnight Stay Not Required: $15 
• Out-of-Area In-State - Overnight Stay Required: $30 
• Out-of-State: $45 

Employees may claim actual costs not to exceed the meal per diem limits. Tax and tips may be included with the calculation of actual costs. 

For lodging, the limits are as follows: 
• Within the State of Iowa: $55 plus tax 
• Out-of-State: $175 plus tax 

We will no longer be using tiered rates for out-of-state travel. All out-of-state travel will have a meal limit of $45 per day and a lodging limit of $175 plus tax per night. Although the out-of-state lodging limit is increasing, employees are encouraged to share rooms when possible in order to maximize limited travel/professional development budgets. 

The mileage reimbursement for business use of your personal vehicle will remain at 39 cents per mile. The rate will increase if the state mileage reimbursement rate increases. Future increases will be effective the first day of the subsequent calendar quarter. All travel prior to July 1, 2013 will use the current meal per diem limits and current lodging limits. 

If you have any questions, please contact Brian Whalen, Business Manager, at bwhalen@aea11.1k2.ia.us or ext. 14005.

Check Out the Redesigned Agency Website!

We are excited to announce the launch of the Agency’s redesigned website at its new home at www.heartlandaea.org! 

The Agency’s Communications Department has done its best to make the new site more user-friendly with improved navigation and updated information. Remember that users who try to access our site at www.aea11.k12.ia.us will be redirected to our new site. 

Courtney Croatt and Claire Sowder, Communications Specialist, have been working hard to update as much content as possible for the launch. The initial focus has been on getting text, attachments and content ready; photos and graphics will come later. We appreciate your patience as we continue to meet with staff content experts about their pages and add content to the new site throughout the summer. As you visit with educators, parents and partners, please take a minute to mention our new web address and our redesigned site.

Contact Communications Dept. for Attachments in Past Connections

With the hosting of our agency’s website now being done by an outside vendor, this means some of the technical things behind the scenes have changed as well. Please note that the pdf attachments that have been linked in past issues of The Connection are no longer functional. If you need an attachment from a past issue, contact the Communications Department at comms@aea11.k12.ia.us, and we will do our best to retrieve the attachment for you.

June 2013 School Leader Update From Iowa Dept. of Education

Click here to read the June 2012 issue of the School Leader Update from the Iowa Department of Education.

Reminder: Leave and Calendar Deadlines

The cutoff date to enter leave requests for the 2012-13 school year is July 3, 2013. Supervisors need to approve all 2012-13 leaves by July 8, 2013. This will allow us to calculate and display actual, rather than estimated, leave balances for 2013-14 by the end of July. 

Calendar exchange requests for 2012-13 must be submitted and approved by June 30, 2013. 

July new hires will not see their leave balances displayed until July 15, while August new hires will not see their leave balances until August 31. 

If you have any questions, contact Chrissy Bradley, Human Resources Specialist, at cbradley@aea11.k12.ia.us or ext. 14432.

Capacity Building Update

The dates for capacity building for the 2013-14 year have been finalized. An email will be sent out on Wednesday with a link to the Google Site. Participants will stay in the same strand unless a change is agreed upon with their supervisor. Regional directors will work with staff members completing year 1 of new staff training about strand placement. If you have any questions, contact Kevin Fangman, Director of District Services, at kfangman@aea11.k12.ia.us.

Our Kids Summer Institute Coming June 18-19

The 2013 Our Kids Summer Institute will be held June 18-19, 2013 at Waukee High School. The institute will provide participants with the opportunity to network with other educational professionals and to discover new strategies for working with English Language Learners throughout Iowa. Registration is available at http://bit.ly/XFVlEz.

Reminder: Timberline Billing No Longer Providing Service to AEAs

This is just a reminder that Timberline Billing will no longer be providing Medicaid billing services to Iowa AEAs as of July 1, 2013. The deadline for submitting Medicaid claims using the Timberline T-Trak system is June 30, 2013. After this date, we will no longer submit claims through the Timberline service. Heartland will not be reimbursed for any claims that are not submitted to Timberline for services delivered on or prior to June 30, 2013. So please be sure to have all claims submitted by this date. If you have any questions, please contact Sara Mercer, School Psychologist, at smecer@aea11.k12.ia.us.