10-3-08
TRS to host teleconference to answer economic concerns
The Teacher
Retirement System (TRS) will host a teleconference at 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6, to
answer educators’ questions regarding the economic crisis and how it will
affect TRS. Members will be able to participate in the teleconference or submit
questions to be answered during the call.
The teleconference
will include opening remarks by TRS Fiduciary Counsel Roel Campos, who will
offer perspective on the legislative efforts to alleviate the crisis. A former
two-term Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioner, Campos is one of the country’s leading experts in securities regulation, corporate
governance and board fiduciary duties. Campos and TRS Executive Director Ronnie
Jung will discuss the government’s plans and what implications they might have
for TRS.
To participate in
the teleconference live, call toll free (877) 757-0918 and enter pass code
446725. You can
submit your questions prior to the call by e-mailing them to chalktalk@trs.state.tx.us. You can
also hear a recorded replay of the call once it has concluded by calling (888)
348-4629 and entering pass code 446725. The replay will only be available for
five days after the call, but a permanent recording will be posted on the TRS
Web site within a week.
ATPE encourages
all members to take advantage of this unique opportunity to have your concerns
directly addressed by TRS officials.
10-3-08
Voter registration deadline Monday, Oct. 6
Register to vote
before it’s too late!
The 2008
elections are just a few weeks away, and it is imperative that educators turn
out and support the candidates they believe will best support public education.
To vote in the election, you must be registered to vote by Monday, Oct. 6. If
you register by mail, your registration card must be postmarked by that date.
If you were previously registered, you do not have to reregister unless you
have moved or your name has changed.
To find out if
you need to register, go to https://voterinfo.sos.state.tx.us/voterws/viw/faces/SearchSelectionVoter.jsp.
You can download
a mail-in registration card at http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/forms/vr17.pdf,
or you can register in person at your county clerk’s office or local Department
of Public Safety office.
Don’t wait.
Register right away!
9-19-08
ATPE submits testimony to TRS Board
The TRS Board of Trustees
met in Austin today to discuss the state of the TRS fund. One focus of the
discussion was a proposal to invest TRS funds into the construction of toll
roads. ATPE submitted testimony regarding this issue. To view it, go to www.atpe.org/Advocacy/LegislativeResources/inputTRSinfrastructureInvestment.asp.
In light of the
recent bankruptcy announcement by Lehman Brothers, ATPE also urged the board to
sever ties with any investment institutions that have demonstrated inability to
effectively manage TRS funds. See below for more information on Lehman
Brothers’ bankruptcy and its effect on TRS.
For more
information, contact ATPE Governmental Relations.
9-19-08
Wall Street turmoil and TRS
Educators should not be worried. Your TRS benefits
are safe.
The Teacher
Retirement System (TRS) released the following statement Monday regarding the
recent news of Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy:
How is TRS Affected by Lehman Brothers’ Filing for
Bankruptcy?
First, it’s
important to note that the vast majority of TRS’ investments with Lehman
Brothers are part of a strategic partnership agreement that became effective on
July 1, 2008. These funds -- about 1 percent of the total TRS portfolio -- are
in TRS’ name, held in a separate trust with TRS’ master custodian, State Street
Bank, and remain securely under TRS control. These funds are neither held by
nor co-mingled with Lehman Brothers. In other words, Lehman Brothers is acting
in our behalf to invest these funds in a wide variety of financial instruments.
We do not believe that a Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy will have any impact on
these invested funds. While TRS does have direct investments in Lehman Brothers,
they represent less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the TRS portfolio. TRS will
continue to monitor developments closely and we are taking action to minimize
any impacts to the fund.
We have every
confidence that our highly diversified fund is well-positioned to absorb
fluctuations in the market and thereby best serve the long-term financial
interests of our members.
The overall
performance of the stock market has been a cause of concern for any interested
party for some time now. ATPE expects that the recent announcement regarding
Lehman Brothers will most likely deepen those concerns. While the situation
with Lehman Brothers will have a negative impact on the TRS fund, educators
should take comfort in knowing that the impact will be minimal as TRS’ investment
in Lehman only represents one tenth of one percent of the fund. Also, according
to TRS, the protections put into place by the board will keep the initial
investment from being lost.
All pension funds
and investors are witnessing a period of market volatility where many
investments, including private retirement accounts, are losing value.
Fortunately for Texas educators, the state of Texas provides a constitutionally
guaranteed defined benefit plan to educators in which your pension is
determined by several factors. This is why it is crucial that TRS continues to
offer a defined benefit plan to educators instead of a defined contribution
plan, similar to a 401(k), as proposed by some officials.
ATPE will closely
follow the TRS Board’s investment decisions and their response to the current
market situation. We will attend the TRS board meeting Thursday and Friday of
this week to discuss several issues, including the status of the fund and
recent investments.
Stay tuned for
updates.
9-19-08
THECB Participation and Success Committee
The Participation
and Success Committee of the Texas Higher Education Coordination Board met in Austin Sept. 19 to discuss a uniform GPA proposal. The proposal has raised a number of
concerns, including issues related to Advanced Placement (AP) and International
Baccalaureate (IB) courses. Several members of the education community,
including teachers, principals and school board members testified before the
committee. Under the current proposal, Pre-AP/IB courses would not receive
additional weight. The majority of the testimony stressed that giving
additional weight to pre-AP/IB courses was imperative because the disadvantage
of taking a more rigorous course load without the incentive of additional
weighting would dissuade many students from pursuing pre-AP/IB courses.
Testifiers were concerned that less participation in pre-AP/IB and AP/IB
classes will lead to a reduction in the overall level of rigor the average high
school student experiences, ultimately leading to a decline in the overall
level of college readiness. In addition, many of the testifiers expressed
concerns about dual credit courses receiving the same amount of weight as full
AP or IB courses since these courses are more rigorous and more uniform than
dual credit courses.
The committee
postponed taking any formal action until its next meeting in October. For more
information, contact ATPE Governmental Relations.
9-5-08
Appropriations Subcommittee discusses incentive pay programs
On Sept. 3, 2008,
the House Appropriations subcommittee on Education met to discuss three interim
charges; the most important of which being a review of certain Texas Education
Agency (TEA) programs, specifically recently enacted incentive pay programs.
The committee heard from Legislative Budget Board (LBB) staff, the senior
director of educator initiatives and performance for the TEA, as well as TEA
Commissioner Robert Scott.
The LBB provided
a history of the three incentive pay programs and what their current status is.
This year, the first incentive pay program, the Governor’s Educator Excellence
Grant (GEEG), will be phased out, while the Texas Educator Excellence Grant
(TEEG) will continue and the District Awards for Teacher Excellence (DATE) will
begin its first year.
TEEG is a
campus-based program that offers incentive pay primarily to educators who teach
in the top half of economically disadvantaged schools in the state that are
recognized, exemplary or are in the top quartile of schools in improvement. The
Legislature appropriated $100 million for TEEG for the 2007 school year and
$97.5 million for each of the 2008 and 2009 school years. Currently there
are approximately 1100 campuses participating with educators receiving awards
from nearly $3,000 to over $10,000.
DATE is a
district-based program (instead of campus-based) and every school in the state
is eligible to participate. The Legislature funded DATE with $148 million; 213
school districts are participating in 2008-09.
Overall, Texas is spending more than $347 million on teacher incentive pay programs for 2008-09,
which makes it the largest incentive plan in the country.
ATPE supports
differentiated bonus pay plans developed at the campus level but continues to oppose
incentive pay plans that determine educator compensation based on individual
student test scores. ATPE has a long history of working with the Legislature to
increase teacher pay and are currently working with elected officials to allow
school districts more freedom in determining how to use incentive funds to
increase educator compensation, rather than being required to base awards on
test scores. During the 81st legislative session, ATPE will be submitting
recommendations to both improve the incentive pay plans and to increase overall
educator compensation.
If you have
questions about any of these incentive pay plans or would like to discuss
ATPE’s legislative program, please contact ATPE Governmental Relations.
Not always near your
computer? Call (800) 777-ATPE 24 hours a day, seven days a
week to access the information above. (If you call during
business hours, ask to be connected to the ATPE Hotline.)