Good Morning,
First and foremost, I hope that you have taken a moment this summer to breathe and relax while enjoying everything that nature has to offer on a beautiful day. The last school year was a challenging one and the next one could prove to be one of the most difficult ones we have ever faced.
Tonight the school board will vote on which plan they feel would be the best to start the 2020-2021 school year, I encourage to tune in on the links Kristin Boyd provided. With that said, I am writing to you so you know that your entire officer team, rep council, and PSEA staff understand the gravity of this situation and the undue stress it is putting on everyone professionally and personally. Unfortunately there is no decision that works for every person as we all face our own challenges in this time. No scenario is the same and no two people share exactly what is the best to do as we enter the fall. We are doing our best in a situation that changes hourly to navigate and advocate for the best choices for the majority of our membership to feel safe and healthy as full staffs start working in the fall.
But we want to remind you that you have the right to make the best decision for you and for your family. Some of these decisions are going to be very difficult depending on what you see is best for you and your family. Many of these decisions are going to be at the last minute as it is difficult to decide what to do when the situation keeps changing. In the end, we are here to help you navigate the options to consider and to help you when it comes time to notify the School District if you feel that you cannot return.
As you navigate choices, we wanted to give you a general feel for all of the options that you need to consider. Please understand that only you know which options are available for you to use based on prior use. We are fortunate because our collective bargaining contracts and PA School Code provide us with many opportunities for various leaves.
- Accumulated Sick and Personal Time is always the best option to use first. This provides you with full pay and benefits for the time period that you are out. This is one of the very reasons that we encourage you to accumulate this time each year. You will need to be signed out sick by a doctor to use sick time and fear of COVID-19 does not qualify. There are many physical and mental health issues that do qualify with a note written by your doctor.
- If you have exhausted this time, there exists the ability to take a medical sabbatical. This can happen at the time the medical sabbatical is needed and does not come with all of the red tape like an educational sabbatical. There may be particular paperwork that you need to fill out in order to take the sabbatical but it is similar to the process of just using your sick leave. Some things to consider:
- Must have completed ten years of satisfactory service in PA public schools and at least five in your current district unless waived by that district
- If you have already taken a sabbatical, you must work another seven years to be eligible for another one.
- You are eligible for a year but can take them in semesters. In addition if you only take your first semester and then return to work, your second semester can still be taken within 24 months of the start of your first one.
- This is at 50 percent of your pay with PSERS and your healthcare premium still coming out of the 50 percent.
- You will have full PSERS credit for this time and your healthcare benefits continued through this time.
- Working another job on a medical sabbatical is not encouraged. There could be situations that could be justified but it could be a problem that jeopardizes your situation.
CAVEAT: There is one sticking point to using a sabbatical. You must return for one year OR be signed out permanently by your doctor to not return to teaching. It is possible to be signed out permanently from public teaching and still work somewhere else to meet this criteria. It does not keep you from ever working.
- There is also FMLA which is for 12 weeks with no pay but keeps your healthcare benefits going as long as you pay your premium share. If you take sick leave, this often overlaps with that time in many districts. You must work at least 1, 250 hours in the preceding school year.
- Our collective bargaining contract provides income protection which is a long term disability insurance. This can bee found on pg. 17 oof our CBA under “Income Protection Plan.”
- A request for a General leave which is afforded in our contract can also be made in many instances. This is without pay and benefits but will secure you are position to have the option of returning.
- Finally we are working on other options for people as plans unfold that would allow for limited risk for our most vulnerable members. These cannot be guaranteed and are far from being decided as plans keep changing.
This situation is so stressful that I know we have many members that are considering retirement. Please make sure that you fully investigate that option before you submit a letter of retirement. These letters are not able to be rescinded once they are turned into the District. We recommend the following things to consider with retirement:
- Contact the Field Office of PSERS (which is not PSEA union but the actual PA Retirement system) to talk through your options. If this is based on health issues, explain that to the field office to try to get an appointment sooner. The phone number for that office is 570-614-0269.
- If you are not superannuated (which means the ability to retire without penalty) and this is for health reasons, you may want to consider a disability retirement. Ask to talk to them about this option. This is not like Social Security Disability. It is easier to get with medical documentation and does allow you to work outside of public education while still collecting your monthly pension. Superannuation occurs with the following:
- Age 62 with any years of service
- Age 60 with 30 years of service
- 35 years of service regardless of age
- Also remember that retirement can be considered at any age with a penalty if you are considering a switch out of public education at this time. It just gets very difficult to return if you decide to start to draw on that pension. It can also sit and wait until you are ready to start using it.
- Finally we have retirement benefits in our contract that require notification criteria/deadlines (60 day notice or April 1st to receive a pay-out of RSD sick days.) Before you count out retirement because you missed the deadline let me know about your situation. The District may be willing to work with us depending on the situation.
This situation also poses an additional leave issue to consider. Many of you have children that may be facing a situation to be home for school this year. Some of you have family members that are health risks to COVID-19 even though you do not have any health risks yourself. This is causing stress as you feel the responsibility of protecting your loved ones. If you are considering leaves, many of the options explained above do not qualify for this reason. Things to instead consider:
- If you do have a medical condition that is getting exacerbated due to all of this personal and professional stress, please consider one of the medical options above.
- If you do not like your options and want to consider a different path, look at the underlined bullet above.
- In this situation you do have the option of FMLA leave if eligible that is described above.
- There is also the option of an unpaid leave as described above.
- Until December 31st if you are caring for a child whose school or childcare provider is closed due to COVID-19 related reasons, you are eligible for ten weeks of your FMLA time at 2/3 thirds pay up to $200 daily and $2000 total with your health benefits. This is use of your FMLA benefit that has been temporarily enhanced. We do not know if this will be extended after December 31st by the Federal government.
In the end the School District is going to make you feel like you need to make a decision right now and yes that is what will be best for them. You must remember that you need to do what is best for you. We would prefer that you notify us and the District if you are positive you will not be returning. In this ever changing situation we understand that most of those decisions will not be made for quite some time. We are here to talk through situations and help to advise. Please understand the size of not only our membership, but the amount of locals our Uniserv serves, we will need to make sure we prioritize some of our more serious situations.
Be Well,
Rebecca