Our Mission
To provide services and leadership, in partnership with families, schools and communities, that improve the learning outcomes and well-being of all children and youth.

Our Goals
• Increase learning growth for students
• Decrease the gap in achievement
• Increase annual graduation rates
• Increase gateways to post-secondary success 

Reminder: Mark Your Calendars: Coffee With the Chief

Mark your calendars for “Coffee With the Chief” sessions to be held through the Agency this spring! These will be non-mandatory open forum-style meetings with no formal presentation. They are an opportunity for you to talk with me about anything and everything. If you aren’t able to attend the session in your region, you are welcome to attend in another region. I look forward to seeing those of you who are able to fit one of the chat sessions into your busy schedule. If you aren’t able to participate in any of the sessions but have input to share, please feel free to e-mail me at pvincent@heartlandaea.org. (Remember you can always contact me if you have questions, concerns, feedback or good news to share.) I look forward to hearing from you! 

- Paula

Date	Office/Room	Time
March 31	Adel Regional Office Meeting Room	8:30-9:30 a.m.
April 27	Johnston REC Conf. Rooms 152 A/B/C	11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
May 1	Guthrie Center Library 400 Grand Street	11 a.m.-Noon
	Carroll Regional Office	2-3 p.m.
May 8	Indianola Regional Office Large Conf. Room	11 a.m.-Noon
May 15	Knoxville Regional Office	8-9 a.m.
	Newton Regional Office Conf. Room 125	Noon-1 p.m.
May 18	Ames Regional Office Conf. Rooms A & B	3-4 p.m.

 

Buck Issues Statement About Becoming Next Cedar Rapids Superintendent

Last Wednesday, Iowa Department of Education Director Brad Buck released the following statement on being named the next superintendent of the Cedar Rapids Community School District: 

“As a native of Cedar Rapids and a proud graduate of Jefferson High School, I’m thrilled to return to my hometown in this role. It’s clear to me that this is a school district that is committed to innovation and a vision of ‘Excellence for All,’ and I stand ready to be an integral part of delivering on that vision. At the same time, I’m very grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to serve as the director of the Iowa Department of Education, where I’ve worked among passionate, hard-working servants and leaders who have Iowa students’ best interests in their minds and hearts. The Department’s leadership has been essential as Iowa works to implement several ground-breaking initiatives, including the most comprehensive teacher leadership system in the nation and an effort to ensure all Iowa students read well by the end of third grade. These are long-term commitments that are larger than the leadership of one individual. I’m also deeply grateful to Gov. Branstad and members of his staff, to past and present members of the State Board of Education, and to educators across the state. Iowa is focused on the right work to improve instruction and raise student achievement.”

Reminder: Annual Benefit Enrollment Coming April 1-30; Life Insurance Enrollment to be Included

Our annual benefit enrollment will be open to all full-time and 96-day employees from April 1 through April 30, 2015 at 4:00 p.m. for the 2015-16 year benefit year, which begins July 1, 2015. Full-time employees will be enrolling in health and dental insurance and medical flex spending plans, while part-time staff (96-day) will only be enrolling in medical flex spending. (Note: This enrollment period is not for enrollment in the dependent care plan, which is done in November.) We will need your enrollment selections even if you choose not to make any changes to your benefits for next year. This is the time that you can add and/or drop family members to your health and dental plans without a life event or change of status. 

A change coming this year is that enrollment will now be completed through the Employee Online tab on the Employee Dashboard rather than through a separate web link. An enrollment guide will be available in next week’s Connection that will walk you through the enrollment process. The guide will also be available on the enrollment process page. 

VOYA Life Insurance Enrollment 
During our annual benefit enrollment, employees who didn’t opt for additional life insurance coverage through VOYA can also enroll. During April, we will provide the enrollment form and Evidence of Insurability via The Connection. Existing employees who are enrolling for the first time will be required to fill out an Evidence of Insurability form. Existing employees who are already enrolled but who want to increase their coverage may also do so at this time. Existing employees may increase their coverage, but if they choose to increase it over $10,000, they will be required to fill out an Evidence of Insurability form. Enrollment will be during April but will be effective on July 1, 2015. 

If you have any questions, contact Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist, at jhouseman@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14315.

Correction on Medical Flex Spending Plan Election Amount

Due to new IRS guidelines*, there is a correction in the amount that employees can elect to deduct from their paycheck for medical flex spending. The new amounts are reflected below. 

Each employee may choose to deduct from his/her paycheck a maximum of $2,550 ($106.25/pay period) regardless of how many family members you have or whether your spouse is able to contribute at his/her place of employment. As in the past, you may submit claims for eligible expenses for you, your spouse and your eligible children. For those couples where both spouses work at Heartland AEA, each spouse may elect up to $2,550 for the plan year. 

Remember, if you enroll in medical flex spending and aren’t able to spend your entire election amount, you will be able to rollover up to $500 from the 2014-15 plan into the 2015-16 plan. IMPORTANT: Any balances $500 or under that are rolled over will be subject to the $2.50 administrative fee until account balance is $0. 

*New 2015 Limit for Health FSAs, Adoption and Transit 
The IRS and Social Security Administration released the 2015 cost-of-living (COLA) adjustments that apply to health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) in Revenue Procedure 2014-61. The new annual limit for health FSAs, including general-purpose and limited-purpose health FSAs, is $2,550 for plan years starting on or after January 1, 2015. 

The $2,550 limit is pro-rated for short plan years (plan years that are shorter than 12 months) and any carry-over amount from participants’ previous plan years may be added to the limit. For instance, participants may elect $2,550 for the 2015 plan year and carry over a maximum of $500 from the previous plan year, making their total account value $3,050 for the 2015 plan year. In other words, the $500 carryover does not count against or affect the $2,550 salary reduction limit. 

If you have any questions, contact Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist, at jhouseman@heartlandaea.org or ext. 14315.

AEA Legislative Update

Each week during the Iowa legislative session, we will bring you an AEA Legislative Update from the AEA system’s lobbyists, Tom Lane, Matt Eide and John Pederson.

The Facts About Education Funding – A Team Approach

During the legislative session, the Joint Education Allowable Growth Group (IASB, UEN, AEAs, SAI, ISEA and RSAI) will once again be creating weekly factoids about the need for consistent growth in the state’s annual education spending rate. These “Facts About Education Funding” will be sent to all legislators, Gov. Branstad and Dept. of Education Director Buck highlighting a pertinent fact about education spending in Iowa. Each week this link will also be shared in The Connection. 

Deadlines: It’s All About Timing

Region 2 Transition Fair to Link Teens With Special Needs to Post-High School Resources

April 13, 2015
5:30-8:30 p.m. 
Adel-DeSoto-Minburn High School 

Parents, students ages 14+, educators and AEA staff are invited to attend this fair to gather information that will be of assistance to students with special needs who will be transitioning from high school to post-secondary pursuits. 

Break-out Sessions 
6:20-6:55 p.m., 7:05-7:40 p.m., 7:50-8:30 p.m. 

Informational Tables 
5:30-8:00 p.m. 

Registration 
Registration is not required, but it would be helpful if students let their guidance counselor or special education teacher know that they plan to attend by March 30, 2015.