Better Choices for Virginia

A broad coalition of groups and community leaders have come together under the umbrella, Better Choices for Virginia, to promote a more balanced and people-oriented approach to the Commonwealth's short term and long term needs. According to their website, the following principles guide the coalition's efforts to influence policymakers' as they craft state budgets:

• Take a balanced approach. A balanced approach to meeting Virginia’s current budget crisis will lead to faster, more sustainable recovery. Innovative funding and revenue solutions must be considered along with cuts to public services, as available resources are falling billions of dollars short of need.
• Address the immediate crisis and plan for the future. Now more than ever is the time for long-term strategies and lasting solutions. Virginia must thoughtfully invest in education, public safety, health, and our natural resources to ensure that we honor our legacy of sound management and make the investments we’ll need to return to prosperity.
• Craft revenue solutions that allow us to invest in Virginia’s future. Virginia is facing its fifth year in a row of budget shortfalls. The uncertainty that results from these shortfalls, along with the economic harm that results from a cuts-only strategy hurts working Virginians and Virginia businesses. We must reform our outdated revenue system if we’re going to have sustainable budgets.

Coalitions involve compromise and finding common ground. True, the seeds to disunion are sown in every coalition, yet it is remarkable that these groups have set aside differences to achieve goals for the common good that seem elusive to many in our current crop of indoctrinated-by-ALEC politicians:

AARP / AFL-CIO / All-Med Express Medical Supply / Comprehensive Health Investment Project (CHIP) of Virginia / Communication Workers of America / Housing Opportunities Made Equal / Laborers International Union / League of Conservation Voters / Legal Aid Justice Center / Mental Health America of Virginia / Metropolitan Business League / Virginia National Organization for Women / Progress Virginia / Social Action Linking Together / SEIU / Sierra Club / The Commonwealth Institute / Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations / Better Housing Coalition / Virginia Housing Coalition / Virginia Education Association / Virginia Executive Leadership Council / Virginia First Cities / Virginia Interfaith Center / Virginia Interfaith Power & Light / Virginia New Majority / Virginia Organizing / Virginia Poverty Law Center / Virginia PTA

As I scanned the list, I found that I am currently an active volunteer in two of the organizations, was during my career very active in a third, and have supported activities or attended events of several others. The organizations are grassroots and reflective of we the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Far more reflective of the state's diversity and cognizant of the needs than the governor or the 140 members of the General Assembly.

Find out more and get involved at Better Choices for Virginia.

Learn more about the subversive influence of ALEC in this New York Times article and at Common Cause.

Under the cover of darkness

Late on Saturday evening, the Senate and House of Delegates rushed through a 21 page conference report of SB 497, SB 498, and HB 1130 (Senate Finance Committee summary) that brought sweeping changes to the Virginia Retirement System. Passage came within minutes with little discussion and no fiscal impact statement. From early reports (many of which are vague because even those who voted on the bill aren't clear about the impact of all its provisions) it seems the General Assembly is putting the burden of reform on many local and state employees. Some key points -

Employees who are not vested (less than five years service) and those hired after July 1, 2010 will see three changes that will reduce benefits -

• The multiplier used to compute benefits will be reduced to 1.65% from 1.70%,
• The cost-of-living-adjustment will be capped at 3% rather than 5%,
• Average Final Compensation will be based on the average of the highest five years instead of the current three years.

Employees with currently less than 20 years of service who retire before age 65 will have to wait until that age for any cost-of-living-adjustment.

Beginning January 1, 2014 new hires will have a pension system that is part defined benefit (with 1% multiplier) and part defined contribution. The employee will pay 4% of salary into the defined benefit portion and 1% into the defined contribution portion. The employer will match up to 3.5%.

It appears there are no changes for those who are currently retired nor for those with 20+ years of service.

According to the Virginia Education Association, teachers as well as state and local employees will pay more and get less in benefits -

The Joint Legislative and Audit Commission’s actuarial analysis indicates that a 60-year-old teacher making the average teacher salary will receive $9,129 less in annual benefit if they make the minimum required contribution and $874 less if they make the maximum contribution. In short, future teachers will pay more to get less.

Senator Creigh Deeds explained in a recent email newsletter why he voted against the VRS bills -

I am concerned that we are imposing on local governments a mandate with an unknown cost. I asked pointed questions during the briefing about the effect of the plans on retirement benefits and about the cost to local governments and did not receive answers that quieted my concern. I am also concerned that we are providing a disincentive for people to work in public service. It is important that we not only maintain trust with those people who are already vested in VRS (and these bills do not affect those people who are vested), but that we provide an incentive for highly qualified and talented people to come to work in public service. The bottom line is that there were too many unanswered questions for me on all of these bills.

Senator Deeds went on to state that the best way to restore VRS is to "simply pay into the system what the trustees propose" and what actuaries say is prudent.

Over many years the General Assembly and governors have intentionally underfunded VRS and used the money for other pet projects. The result is a retirement system having $24 billion in unfunded liability and falling below the sound benchmark of 80% funded. Now our "citizen legislators" want to balance the books on the backs of many state employees, local employees, teachers, law enforcement offices, and judges. And because of the rush job on these bills they can't even tell us the effects on the fund's viability or  on hiring and retaining a qualified workforce to carry out core services of the Commonwealth.

Even retirees and those with 20+ years of service, who apparently are held harmless by these bills, should remain vigilant. With so many unknowns and inadequate funding their benefits could be in jeopardy when the 2013 legislature convenes.

HindSight, ForeSight

A family member is a member of VGEA, the Virginia Governmental Employees Association. In the past couple of months their newsletter, ForeSight, has been showing up in the mail... actually on time and with real news and commentary. In the past many saw VGEA as a weak step sister of similar organizations in the Commonwealth. Compared to the Virginia Education Association, for example, VGEA seemed impotent and largely ignored by legislators and the governor. On key issues of pay, of the Virginia Retirement System, and of working conditions it was hard to see how VGEA had much impact.

Things seem to be changing under the leadership of executive director R. Ronald Jordan and president William Dunlap. Communication with members is improving. Advocacy will hopefully be more forceful. If so, members will be more energized and engaged... which is the most vital way employee groups can exert influence. Kudos to those leaders and members who are moving VGEA towards greater influence - it is about time state employee voices were heard loud and clear.

Feeling the sting

With the budget deliberations not yet finished in Richmond, local school divisions are deep into crunching numbers and getting ready for fewer teachers and other staff, and for larger classes. With most school divisions' budgets heavily weighted towards personnel - typically 75 to 80% (or more) goes to salaries and benefits - the cuts this year will mean paring down the employee rolls. Most school divisions are trying to do that in as gentle a way as possible, but when the knife cuts to the bone, there is bound to be pain.

One way to pare costs is to encourage experienced teachers to retire and leave positions vacant or replace them with "cheaper" new hires. But, how to do that? Some teachers enjoy their work and involvement with children and are not ready for retirement. Others need the paycheck. The cost of health insurance is a huge concern for almost everyone. Retiring before 30 years of VRS service means taking a hit (which grows when multiplied by the number of years under 30) on the pension. So, school divisions are offering financial incentives to help ease some of those very real fears.

Augusta County has a retirement bonus of $200 per year of creditable VRS service up to $6,000 for staff age 50 and up who retire between March 1 and June 30. They already pay $2,500 towards retiree health insurance (subject to certain stipulations) which helps to ease that concern. Still, there is doubt that $6,000 is enough to attract very many who were not already pretty close to a retirement decision. For anyone under 30 years of service, the hit on VRS benefits likely weighs heavier on the calculations than that one-time payout.

The Staunton Public Schools, which is probably going to close one elementary school, has a more generous retirement incentive. Ditto for Waynesboro - $300 per year of service, up to $9,000. Shenandoah County is considering one. The story is pretty much the same everywhere - get rid of teachers and other staff to save money. Roanoke City and Roanoke County are offering larger buyouts - the city's maxes out at $20,000 and the county's at $12,500.

Statewide, the respected budget analysts at the Virginia Education Association, estimate that the Senate budget will cost almost 16,000 jobs; the House budget about 24,000. These wouldn't be just teachers, but include everyone from cafeteria workers and custodians to assistant superintendents. With the budget likely to fall somewhere in between, job losses of somewhere around 20,000 are likely. I'm sure with less money the fine folks in the General Assembly will relax some mandates, perhaps suspend SOL tests for a couple years, and help in other ways. Do you believe in fairy tales?

Nobody expects the retirement incentive programs to reduce staffing by anywhere close to those numbers so teachers who are not on continuing contract (three years of satisfactory service in the same school division) are holding their collective breath and wondering if they will receive a reduction in force notice. We can probably expect many to be issued, followed by an night of fear, anger, and tears. Hopefully, some will be rehired if the number of retirements is higher than expected or the budget improves. So, you DO believe in fairly tales?

There is some lip service to class size and maintaining the quality of instruction, but - so there is a Puff the Magic Dragon? - have no doubt, classes will be larger (some to the point of chaos), students with special needs will have less support, many of our best and most experienced teachers will be gone, new teachers will be asked to teach subjects for which they are not prepared, and our children will ultimately pay the price for the bad economy and failures of vision in Richmond. First lesson... life isn't fair.

Counting the Dwindling Corn

Governor Tim Kaine announced a series of steps to meet the 2010 budget shortfall of $1.35 billion. Some savings were found in various efficiencies and reducing spending in state agencies based on those agencies' own recommendations. Many of those will not be immediately felt by the public although over time services will be impacted.

Several of the governor's actions, required by the magnitude of the shortfall, will directly impact families, programs, core services, and state employees. Among them:

• Some 929 state jobs will be eliminated requiring 593 layoffs.
• Higher education will be hit to the tune of 13-15% reductions. For UVA that is about $19 million - which has to hit everything from buildings and grounds to instruction. It will be especially difficult for community colleges which cannot turn students away. Expect bulging classes, the elimination of some classes/programs, more snow-covered parking lots and sidewalks.
• A one-day furlough for most state employees - in short, a four-day Memorial Day weekend, with one day unpaid. The loss of a day's pay will be tough on some families, but not as tough as more layoffs that would occur absent the furlough. A little shared pain seems the better of bad options. Public safety and some other areas will be exempted.
• A reduction of $104 million in payments to the Virginia Retirement System. VRS has a reputation of being well managed, but like every other investor has been hammered by the stock market (which is thankfully rebounding). VRS is a sacred trust to state employees and while the state can't raid the funds directly, this backdoor reduction in funding will weaken the system. The Commonwealth must do, as the governor promises, readjust the contribution rates to assure the long term viability of the system.

Kudos to the governor for not taking the boning knife to K-12 education. Along with public safety, K-12 is the most vital of government services. So far, because of the efforts of Governor Kaine and federal stimulus funds, education has been largely spared. Education is the key to our future, our economy, the very fabric of our society and every effort must be made to protect public schools.

Which brings us to a crucial point - it does make a difference who is in the Executive Mansion setting priorities. Bob McDonnell says he'll pay for roads by shifting over $5 billion from education. That's BILLION. McDonnell promises to raise teacher salaries - but it is a shortsighted smoke and mirrors (shift and shaft) scheme that cuts school services such as nurses, counselors, speech pathologists, and other support personnel.

The more we see and hear of Bob McDonnell, the clearer it becomes that the man will say and promise about anything in his desperation to wield power. Talking out of both sides of his mouth... he's ultra-conservative to one audience and a reasonable moderate to another group in the very same day! A vote for Bob McDonnell is like buying a pig-in-a-poke - you never know who, or what, is the real Bob McDonnell.

VEA endorses Deeds

The Virginia Education Association, after examining the legislative records, reviewing questionnaires, and interviewing both candidates has endorsed Creigh Deeds for Governor. VEA President Kitty Boitnott, speaking for the VEA fund, said of Deeds:

"Creigh Deeds has an 18-year record in the General Assembly of support for public education. He's been a voice for Virginia's students and educators and has worked tirelessly to maintain and strengthen the commonwealth's public schools. We're excited to back him, and look forward to his continued support and encouragement from him as governor."

This is a major endorsement for all sorts of good reasons. The VEA is politically active and has members (and retirees) in every community and has expertise in issues affecting K-12 education.