From Harford County Public Schools:
April 13, 2015
The Board of Education of Harford County met for an open business meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Board Room of the A. A. Roberty Building and took the following actions and received the following presentations:
Board Comments
Public Comments
– Councilman David Glenn, Havre de Grace City Council: Shared disappointment in Harford County’s recent Countywide Master Plan, presented by the Jacobs Engineering Group and reported on in the media.
– Christie Rigilano: Concerns over changes to the sick leave bank policy in regards to maternity leave.
– Kayleigh Toepfer: Student who shared concerns about Havre de Grace Middle School building conditions. Would like to see new middle and high schools in Havre de Grace.
– JoAnne Toepfer: Referenced article in media about the Countywide Master Plan conducted by the County and shared concerns surrounding the article in reference to Havre de Grace schools.
Old Business:
– Consent Agenda:
– Decision on Award of Contract: Science Labware Supplies and Equipment
– Minutes of Previous Board Meetings: March 10, 2015 and March 23, 2105
New Business:
– Action Item:
– Decision on Appointments and Promotions by Ms. Jean Mantegna
– Decision on HCPS Board Policies by Patrick P. Spicer, Esq.
Philosophy of Education Policy No. 04-0001
Curriculum Development Policy No. 04-0002
Utilization of Curriculum Materials No. 04-0003
Curriculum Design Basic Programs Policy No. 04-0004
Review and Selection of Instructional Materials Policy No. 04-0005
Educational Accountability – Operation and Management of Schools Policy No. 04-0007
Superintendent’s Report
– No report this evening.
The next Board of Education business meeting will be held Monday, April 27, 2015 at 6:30pm. All Board meetings are held in the A. A. Roberty Building. To access all future meeting dates and agendas, log onto the school system website at www.hcps.org.
So is this what we can expect for the next four years? Face the facts, no new school in the river city.
“- Christie Rigilano: Concerns over changes to the sick leave bank policy in regards to maternity leave.”
That was HCEA’s choice to give up the maternity leave rather than file IRS paperwork and wait for a ruling. Or, they could have let HCPS manage the bank and the maternity leave would have remained, but that wouldn’t let the union decide who gets days behind closed doors…
I wouldn’t be comfortable with HCEA managing getting the white boards erased a the end of the day. But the teachers voted for the current HCEA leadership so good luck to them. Teachers should not believe that HCEA leadership will ‘respect them in the morning’ or any other time for that matter.
Can some explain what is happening to maternity leave?
Basically, HCEA’s leave bank was no longer automatically exempt from taxation under IRS regulations due to inclusion of maternity leave.
The situation had four possible resolutions:
1) Drop maternity leave coverage for non-c-section births (c-sections were still allowed as being surgery).
2) HCEA could apply for an IRS ruling that they were a qualifying leave bank, potentially waiting two or three years for resolution while teachers would pay taxes on the day during the wait.
3) Every member of the leave bank could pay taxes on the day (IIRC it came out to $50 per employee per year) into perpetuity.
4) HCPS could administer the leave bank
HCEA chose #1.