Tag: teachers

PSERS bet big on this scrubs brand whose IPO boosted a Steelers owner’s billions

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.inquirer.com/business/figs-scrubs-psers-steelers-tull-ipo-20210602.html

Excerpt:

Figs Inc., which sells stylish hospital scrubs, has pulled off a successful public stock offering that has enriched a Pittsburgh investor along with Pennsylvania’s beleaguered school pension fund and other early backers, at least on paper.

Investors’ appetite for attractive new stocks appears to have paid off for Thomas Tull, a billionaire tech investor and Steelers part-owner, by more than $20-$1, while quadrupling the PSERS pension fund’s investment — if it can cash out its shares at today’s bullish prices.

Early private investors typically face a “lock-up” period, often six months, before they can sell all shares. The stock could gain value or crash before the shares are sold.

Still, a big Figs payday would be a boost to beleaguered PSERS chief investment officer James Grossman. His team’s complex and often secretive investments have been criticized by a growing reform faction of PSERS trustees who say the fund could do better in low-cost index funds.

Author(s): Joseph N. DiStefano

Publication Date: 2 June 2021

Publication Site: The Philadelphia Inquirer

Mask Use and Ventilation Improvements to Reduce COVID-19 Incidence in Elementary Schools — Georgia, November 16–December 11, 2020

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7021e1.htm

Graphic:

Excerpt:

Representatives from 169 (11.6%) of 1,461 schools in 51 (32.1%) of 159 Georgia counties (median = two schools per county) completed the survey and also had available COVID-19 case data (Figure).¶¶¶ Schools reporting 100% virtual learning were excluded. Among the 169 schools, 162 (95.9%) were public, representing 47 (26.0%) of 181 public school districts in Georgia (median = two schools per district). Schools had a median of 532 enrolled students (attending virtually and in-person), 91.1% were publicly funded, 71.0% were located in metropolitan areas, and 82.2% used hybrid learning (Table 1). Median class size was 19.0 students (interquartile range [IQR] = 15.0–21.0); median cohort size was 20.0 students (IQR = 15.0–21.0). Among all schools, the proportion of students receiving at least some in-person instruction ranged from 8.5% to 100% (median = 84.7%); 3.0%–100% (median = 64.0%) were eligible for free or reduced-cost meal plans, and approximately one half of students were White (median = 55.1%), followed by Black (median = 17.0%), Hispanic (median = 9.0%), multiracial (median = 4.5%), and Asian (median = 1.0%).****

Prevention strategies implemented at participating schools included requiring masks for teachers and staff members (65.1%) or students (51.5%), flexible medical leave for teachers (81.7%), improved ventilation (51.5%), spacing all desks ≥6 ft apart (18.9%), and using barriers on all desks (22.5%). Schools reported a median of 9.0 (IQR = 8.0–9.0) locations with handwashing stations (Table 1).

Author(s): Jenna Gettings, DVM1,2,3; Michaila Czarnik, MPH1,4; Elana Morris, MPH1; Elizabeth Haller, MEd1; Angela M. Thompson-Paul, PhD1; Catherine Rasberry, PhD1; Tatiana M. Lanzieri, MD1; Jennifer Smith-Grant, MSPH1; Tiffiany Michelle Aholou, PhD1; Ebony Thomas, MPH2; Cherie Drenzek, DVM2; Duncan MacKellar, DrPH1

Publication Date: 21 May 2021

Publication Site: CDC

Schools Are Dropping Mask Requirements, But A New CDC Study Suggests They Shouldn’t

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.npr.org/2021/05/21/999106426/schools-are-dropping-mask-requirements-but-new-cdc-study-suggests-they-shouldnt

Excerpt:

New research released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reinforces an old message: COVID-19 spreads less in schools where teachers and staff wear masks. Yet the study arrives as states and school districts across the country have begun scaling back or simply dropping their masking requirements for staff and students alike.

….

The new study comes from Georgia and compares COVID-19 infection rates across 169 K-5 schools. Some schools required teachers, staff and sometimes students to wear masks; some did not.

Between Nov. 16 and Dec. 11, researchers found that infection rates were 37% lower in schools where teachers and staff members were required to wear masks. The difference between schools that did and did not require students to wear masks was not statistically significant.

Author(s): Cory Turner

Publication Date: 21 May 2021

Publication Site: NPR

‘Unsustainable’ pension woes hang over Chicago, Lightfoot says: In a speech to potential investors, the mayor combines optimism about the city’s future with a dire warning

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/greg-hinz-politics/chicagos-recovery-clouded-unsustainable-pension-woes-lightfoot-tells-investors

Excerpt:

Coupling a boatload of optimism with a dire warning, Mayor Lori Lightfoot told investors from around the country that Chicago is well positioned to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and is a good place for them to allocate their cash.

But her remarks May 6 were far different on the subject of underfunded city pension funds, a problem that has bedeviled mayors for the past two decades.

Though workers deserve what they’ve been promised, she said, “that promise will not be met” unless Springfield lawmakers come to the table with financial aid or other reforms.

….

Lightfoot did not use the word “default.” But some financial experts have warned that some of the city’s four pension funds, particularly those covering firefighters and police, may have trouble paying promised benefits within a few years if they don’t get help.

Author(s): Greg Hinz

Publication Date: 10 May 2021

Publication Site: Crain’s Chicago Business

Teachers union demands leadership changes at embattled PSERS pension fund

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/state/2021/05/21/Teachers-union-demands-leadership-changes-at-embattled-PSERS-pension-fund/stories/202105210131

Excerpt:

A union that represents 61,000 schoolteachers statewide called on most of the board of the Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System to resign amid an ongoing FBI investigation.

“Through alleged errors and omissions, and under a shroud of secrecy, this PSERS Board appears to have jeopardized the present and future financial security of our Commonwealth’s most dedicated public servants,” Arthur Steinberg, president of the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, wrote in a letter to PSERS board members.

In the letter, Mr. Steinberg called for every board member appointed prior to January 2021 to immediately resign. That would reduce the 15-member board to two: the newly elected State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, a Republican, and state Sen. Katie Muth, D-Montgomery County.

Author(s): WALLACE MCKELVEY, pennlive.com

Publication Date: 21 May 2021

Publication Site: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

N.J. teachers need to be told the truth: Their pensions are in jeopardy | Opinion

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.nj.com/opinion/2021/05/nj-teachers-need-to-be-told-the-truth-their-pensions-are-in-jeopardy-opinion.html

Excerpt:

The very notable exception is New Jersey’s Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund (TPAF), which is by far the single-worst public pension in the Brookings study. TPAF is New Jersey’s largest public pension fund and covers all active and retired teachers. New Jersey’s Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), the pension plan for state and municipal workers, is second-worst but not nearly in the dire predicament of TPAF.

This is what Brookings had to say about TPAF: Under any of their investment return scenarios, TPAF is in “near-term trouble” — meaning near-term insolvency. Brookings projects that TPAF will run out of assets in 12-to-15 years, at which point the $4.5 billion-plus in benefits payments will have to be made from the New Jersey’s perpetually strained state budget. This would be a fiscal disaster for New Jersey and a retirement crisis for TPAF’s 262,000 beneficiaries.

Author(s): Mike Lilley

Publication Date: 5 May 2021

Publication Site: NJ.com

Vermont Pension Reform Plan Blasted by State Teachers, Workers

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.ai-cio.com/news/vermont-pension-reform-plan-blasted-state-teachers-worker/

Graphic:

Excerpt:

A plan proposed by Vermont lawmakers to bolster the state’s pension systems, which are facing nearly $3 billion in unfunded liabilities, has been resoundingly panned by state teachers and public employees who said they felt abandoned and betrayed.

According to a draft of the pension reform plan released by the state’s House lawmakers, teachers and state employees would be required to pay more in contributions to the fund, stay in the workforce longer, and get less in monthly benefits when they retire. Additionally, cost of living adjustments (COLAs) would apply only to the first $24,000 of the retirement benefit, and to be vested in the program, employees would have to work twice as long—a minimum of 10 years from the current five.

Author(s): Michael Katz

Publication Date: 30 March 2021

Publication Site: ai-CIO

‘A gut punch’: Teachers, state employees have their say on pension reform

Mary Pat Campbell
‘A gut punch’: Teachers, state employees have their say on pension reform

Excerpt:

In January, Beth Pearce, the state’s treasurer, dropped a political bomb, recommending painful cuts to the state employee and teacher pension systems in an effort to keep the system afloat in the long term. Top lawmakers in the lower chamber kept their cards close to the vest for months, working behind the scenes to craft a response, which was finally released Wednesday in the House Government Operations committee.

Between trimming benefits and asking for higher contributions, the House proposal would cost school workers a cumulative $300 million. For state employees, the cost would be about $200 million. Legislators are offering to pitch in more state dollars, too — an extra $150 million one-time contribution. (The proposals in play would not touch benefits for current retirees or those within five years of retirement.)

There are many reasons why Vermont finds itself staring down the barrel of a nearly $3 billion unfunded liability in its state employee and teacher pension systems. The funds have consistently fallen short of expected returns, and demographic trends also contribute to the problem. But one of the biggest culprits has been several generations of Vermont’s political leaders, who for decades shorted their contributions to the system. 

Author(s): Lola Duffort

Publication Date: 29 March 2021

Publication Site: VT Digger

Pa. officials outraged over multimillion-dollar ‘error’ by teachers pension managers

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.inquirer.com/news/psers-error-teachers-pension-monson-20210316.html

Excerpt:

Uri Monson, the chief financial officer of the Philadelphia School District, the state’s largest, in a social media posting called for “an independent investigation” by State Attorney General Josh Shapiro or newly elected Auditor General Timothy DeFoor.

“If there is any evidence of board members or anyone else directing staff to create a false report,” Monson said, “they should be fired and charged with Honest Services Fraud.”

In a reform imposed by the legislature and governor, the fund adopted a so-called risk-sharing rule some years ago that requires education workers to pay extra if their pension fund falls short of its investment target.

Author(s): Joseph N. DiStefano

Publication Date: 16 March 2021

Publication Site: Philadelphia Inquirer

Emilie Krasnow: My mother dedicated her life to teaching. Fund her pension.

Mary Pat Campbell
Emilie Krasnow: My mother dedicated her life to teaching. Fund her pension.

Excerpt:

This year, teachers have faced more adversity than ever before. I have heard from many educators, union members and parents how scared they are. They are not vaccinated. They are working more hours than ever. They are worried about their students. This is not the time to take away the promise of their retirement stability. 

I am calling on our state legislators and our governor to find alternative revenue sources to fund the retirement plans for teachers and state employees. I am grateful for the hard work of the legislators, union leaders and educators who are collaborating and strategizing to address this issue.

Just a year ago, we were lauding our teachers as “heroes” and “essential workers.” It’s time to put our money where our mouth is and fund their pension program. 

Author(s): Emilie Krasnow

Publication Date: 15 March 2021

Publication Site: VT Digger

Bottom Line: Changes could be coming to the pension system for Kentucky’s teachers

Mary Pat Campbell
Bottom Line: Changes could be coming to the pension system for Kentucky’s teachers

Excerpt:

Legislation to change the pension plan for future teachers in Kentucky moves to the full Senate in the final days of the 2021 session.

House Bill 258, sponsored by Rep. Ed Massey, would create a new tier in the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System (KTRS) for any newly hired teachers in the state that would be partially defined benefit plan like the existing pension plan and part defined contribution plan, more like a 401(k).

The bill serves as a retirement plan as well as social security replacement plan, as teachers in Kentucky do not pay into social security and do not receive the benefit in retirement. The new system would provide a supplemental plan with two percent paid in by both the employee and the state, which is portable to allow an employee to take those benefits with them should they leave the teaching profession, unlike the existing KTRS pension plan.

Author(s): Jacqueline Pitts

Publication Date: 15 March 2021

Publication Site: Lane Report

Senate passes bill boosting ERB pension fund

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.abqjournal.com/2363378/senate-passes-bill-boosting-pension-fund-contributions.html

Excerpt:

New Mexico’s teacher pension fund would benefit from stepped-up taxpayer-funded contributions under a bill that won Senate approval Thursday.

Senators voted 36-6 to pass the measure, Senate Bill 42, which would also extend for two more years a program for retired educators who return to the classroom.

….

Specifically, the bill would increase the taxpayer-funded employer contribution rate paid into the pension fund by 1 percentage point over each of the next four years – taking the rate from 14.15% to 18.15% by the 2025 budget year. Employee contribution rates into the fund would not change.

Author(s): DAN BOYD / JOURNAL CAPITOL BUREAU CHIEF

Publication Date: 25 February 2021

Publication Site: Albuquerque Journal