HRAs bounce back into NISD employees' pockets

It’s been a yo-yo decision, but it may have finally landed in the laps of public school employees. After a flood of calls to the State Capitol, Lt. Gov. Dewhurst and Speaker Craddick directed the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) to replace the $500 health reimbursement supplement back into the paychecks of the employees.

The Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) program, which gives each teacher and classified employee a $500 account for health-care expenses, elicited a sharp response from teachers last month, when the program’s administrator announced that it would charge employees a $30 to $42 fee to cover the costs of administering the program.

The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) Board of Trustees determined that appropriated health care funds will be distributed as supplemental compensation rather than through HRAs. Northside payroll is set to "flow through" the supplement as soon as the District receives the funding. It is expected that the supplement will begin with the end of October paycheck.

“This is good news for our employees,” says Superintendent John Folks. “And, it is the right thing for the State to do.”

Folks' Sayings

Northside, a Recognized District—again!

The ratings are in for 2004, and Northside did incredibly well. For the fifth-year in a row, Northside is a Recognized School District. This distinction is just a validation of what we already know—that NISD continues to be a premier school district!

I am thrilled with the scores and the ratings. At the campus level, we had three Exemplary campuses, 36 Recognized campuses, and 32 campuses received Academically Acceptable. We are especially proud of our Title I schools in that 13 of 30 are rated Recognized.

In addition, we are awaiting the ratings on the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in November. It is very likely we could have schools that are “Recognized” under the state accountability system, yet will be rated as “Needs Improvement” under the NCLB ratings. The reason for this is a system of measuring and counting scores and testers that makes little sense under the NCLB guidelines. Surely, at some point, someone will bring fairness and logic to this system.

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