The Source

Comal ISD Human Resources and Customer Service Newsletter

May 2017

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The Source is a newsletter for all Comal ISD employees. The Source brings recognition, timely reminders and beneficial articles to the employees in an effort to provide increased communication and connection regarding human resources and customer service topics.

In This Issue:

Contracts, LRAs and Last Day to Resign
Important Benefits Information for those Retiring/Resigning at the end of the school year
Compensation for 2017-2018
Insurance % Increase Clarification
In The Spotlight- JROTC Instructors
Health and Wellness- Weight loss Program, Biometric Screening Changes, High Blood Pressure
Customer Service Corner- The Extra Mile

Contract Signing Deadline, LRAs and Last Day to Resign

All contract employees should sign their contract by May 26
Letters of Reasonable Assurance will be available to employees not on contracts and should be acknowledged by June 2.
The last day to resign from your contract position is July 14.

IMPORTANT BENEFITS INFORMATION FOR THOSE RETIRING/RESIGNING AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR:

Teachers and Paraprofessionals will continue to receive a paycheck through August 15, 2017. Administrators and Auxiliary employees are on a different payroll calendar. Please contact payroll or human resources if you are unsure when your last paycheck will be given.

The Benefit plan year terms on July 31, 2017. If you did not complete Open Enrollment and enroll in benefits for next year, your benefits will term on July 31, 2017. If you completed Open Enrollment and re-enrolled in Comal ISD Benefits, they will be termed on August 31, 2017 after the final payroll has been run. If your last paycheck is in June, your benefits will term in June, if your last paycheck is in July, then benefits will term on the last day of July.

If you are retiring, make sure you know the start date for your TRS (or other) benefits. If you have a 9/1/2017 start date for those benefits and did not re-enroll in the Comal ISD insurance plans, you may have a lapse in coverage for the month of August.

Contact Glenna Miranda if you have any questions. 830-221-2040 or glenna.miranda@comalisd.org

Compensation for 2017-2018

On May 11, 2017 the Board of Trustees approved a 3% salary increase for all employees.

*In order to be eligible for the raise in salary employees must have worked at least 90 days during the 2016-2017 school year.

Insurance % Increase Clarification

After meeting with our advisory committees, it was brought to our attention that clarification on the 17% figure for premium increase was needed.

The 17% premium increase for our health insurance plans this year is a 17% increase on the total premium that Comal ISD sends to United Health Care each month. The district contributes $390.00 per person per month for each employee enrolled in the medical insurance.

For example:

The total amount we send to United Health Care for a Single Employee on the Low Medical Option every month is $474.00. The district pays $390.00 of that, so the employee portion is currently $84. The 17% increase is on the total premium, so the total premium that the district will need to send into United Health Care for 2017-18 will be $555.00 per month. The district’s contribution will remain at $390.00, but the employee portion will increase to $165.00.

Another example would be the High Deductible/HSA Plan – we send $636.00 each month to UHC for an Employee with the Employee/Children HD/HSA Plan. The employee’s portion is $246.00 and the district pays $390.00. The 17% increase is on the total premium of $636.00 which increases the amount to $744.00. The district will still send $390.00, but the employee portion will be $354.00.

Contact Glenna Miranda if you have any questions. 830-221-2040 or glenna.miranda@comalisd.org

Quote of the Month

SHOWCASING OUR R.E.A.L. TEAM MEMBERS IN ACTION

We are proud of the tremendous work our almost 2,500 employees do to make our district exceptional. In order to educate our team about all the unique and vital services provided by our employees, we will highlight Comal ISD team roles in each newsletter. You are encouraged to send your stories and suggestions to mandy.epley@comalisd.org for roles you wish to see highlighted in future newsletters.

This month we are highlighting the work of all branches of JROTC and Outstanding Aerospace Instructor of the Year, MSgt Edward Garcia

Comal ISD celebrates a tradition of military service and instruction through a variety of JROTC programs. Comal ISD is proud of the men and women who make up the award winning programs at SVHS NJROTC , CLHS JROTC and CHS AFJROTC.

Most recently, MSgt Edward Garcia, instructor at CHS, was named Region 3’s Outstanding Aerospace Instructor of the Year.

“MSgt Edward Garcia has been recognized as one of the elite instructors in the world and that’s an incredible accomplishment,” said Lt Col Tim Biltz, fellow CHS instructor. “We are very proud he represents the Cougar Nation.”

We are truly proud of the fine work of MSgt Edward Garcia and all of our JROTC branch instructors. Their leadership guides our students to not only learn the tenants of hard work, discipline, team work, management and life skills, but also offers students scholarship opportunities.

Great work, Instructors! We appreciate your dedication and commitment to your students and their families!

NEW WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM THROUGH UNITED HEALTH CARE

Look for an announcement later in the summer about an exciting new Weight Management/Weight Loss plan through United Health Care called Real Appeal. If you are enrolled in the medical insurance, this program will be available to you free of charge. Real Appeal will teach participants how to eat healthy and be active without turning their lives upside down. You get a personalized transformation coach for an entire year, 24/7 online support and mobile app and after you attend your first group coaching session (online!) you will receive a Success Kit full of great gadgets to help you kick start your weight loss. The kit includes a personal blender, digital food scale, resistance band, pedometer, exercise DVD’s and more. We are excited about this new program – we will kick it off with the new benefit year on August 1, 2017.

NEWS ABOUT WELLNESS SCREENINGS – KNOW YOUR NUMBERS!

In the past couple of years, we have had United Health Care representatives at each of our Convocations to provide the wellness screenings as part of United Health Care’s wellness program. Remember, you can earn gift card rewards by completing a number of wellness activities during the plan year, including your biometric screenings which check your blood pressure, cholesterol, BMI, etc. The participation has grown over the past two years, but we are working on a way to have even more of you be able to participate. Instead of having you take time away from Convocation activities, these screenings, Know Your Numbers or KYN Screenings, will be held at many of our campuses in September. Our ComalFit Coordinator, Michaeli Smith, is hard at work setting up the screenings so that more of you can take advantage of the benefit. Watch for announcements about the dates they will be on or nearby your campus.

May is High Blood Pressure Awareness Month

INFORMATION ON MENTAL HEALTH CAN BE FOUND AT:

https://www.uhctools.com/assets/prebuilt_blood_pressure.pdf

Customer Service Corner

The Extra Mile

Go the extra mile, all the way to the end.

You’ve heard the saying; “It’s the little things that matter”.

This is very true in today’s competitive market for education. To keep parents and students engaged in public education, we must go the extra mile, all the way to the end.

It is important that we be on the job to the last day of our contract. When we are out, our students are missing out on the highest form of customer service. Although we have fantastic substitutes, students do not get the quality service of your expertise when you are not there.

4 more ways you can go the extra mile:

1. Know your customers- A great interaction begins and ends with knowing what the customer wants and needs. Customers love personalization. It makes them feel valued and important. Make the end of the year as personalized as the beginning. Find ways to reflect on the year as a whole and provide insight for growth at the end. Providing helpful tips for summer learning and transition to the next level helps people feel that you care about the next step they will take on the education journey.

2. Be consistent- It doesn’t matter if you eat a McDonald’s cheeseburger in New York or London, they always seem to taste the same. You know what to expect. And for that reason you keep going back.

Whether it’s food or customer support interactions, the same principle applies. Your customers want to know what to expect, and would like to think that no matter whenever or wherever they have an interaction with you, it will be the same positive experience.

The simplest way to build consistency with a customer is to build a consistent process within your practice. Just as you called home at the beginning of the year, it is a good practice to make contact at the end of the year to discuss student growth and provide an opportunity for feedback.

3. Fix mistakes- Always solicit, and act on, feedback from your students and parents. It shows you value their input, and it has a real impact on the way you provide service.

4. Give thanks- Thank your students and parents. Send them an email or card. Your words of thanks and encouragement keep them engaged with the campus and district and forge lasting relationships.