Delegates at the 2024 NEA-Retired Annual Meeting adopted a document outlining Strategic Planning and Future Activities, available at the link below.
NEA-Retired Strategic Planning – Future Activities Updated May 8, 2024
2024 OEA Foundation Gala
The OEA Educational Foundation is holding our bi-annual fundraiser on Saturday, July 20, 2024. Our goal is to celebrate Public Education and to raise $50,000 for the Foundation to continue making a difference in education. The event will run from 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM at Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in downtown Columbus.
July 2024 NEOEA-R Newsletter
July 2024
- NEOEA-R/KSEA Mentoring
- Holden Arboretum Tour
- Read Across America through KSEA
- OEA-RA Report
- OEA Retired Delegate Election Results
- NEOEA Summer Leadership – July 17 -18
- What is PEP?
- OEA-R Webinar Replays
- Keep Your Information Up to Date
- Join OEA-R/NEA-R as a Life Member
- Discounts
- NEOEA Calendar
Summer Leadership Conference 2024
Summer is just around the corner, and that means our
SUMMER LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE registration is open!!
The conference will be held July 17-18 at Corporate College East.
We will offer two days of training for you, local leaders, and all members. This year we are offering amazing sessions on Wednesday afternoon, as well as a presidents’ track, building representative training, leadership sessions, and grievance processing training on Thursday – to name just a few of the topics. We have something for all members – regardless of your title or your position in the local.
Keynote speaker is Danielle Wiggins from WKYC.
Graduate credit is also available from Lake Erie College.
Registration
Holden Arboretum
Tuesday, May 21, 2024 11:00 AM
Based on responses from our Activities Survey, we are planning a strictly fun event for our members and friends as we visit the Holden Arboretum in Kirtland, which is a captivating way to enjoy the great outdoors.
Whether you want to experience a rotating roster of seasonal activities or retread
your favorite attractions, we’re excited to be your destination to learn, explore,
and grow.
The Highlights Tram Tours provide guests of all ages and mobility levels a chance to discover selected gardens and collections, and learn a little history at the same time. Our tour will begin at 11:00 a.m., and afterwards we’ll have lunch together at an outdoor picnic pavilion.
The $30 fee includes park admission, tram tour, and box lunch.
http://neoea-r.ohea.us/files/2024/02/HoldenTour.pdf
Explore the park all day, if you’d like. The gates open at 9:00 a.m. and close at
5:00 p.m.
Confronting White Nationalism in Schools
When: Thursday, May 23rd, 2024
Time: 6:30pm-8pm
Presenters:
Eriece Colbert, Iowa Education Association
Joni Watson, Ohio Education Association- Retired
Session description:
Americans across the country report a rise in white nationalism and other bigoted extremism. Because schools are hubs of our communities, they have become battlegrounds for extremist organizing and recruitment sites for white nationalist groups targeting young people. This training will prepare educators to respond to extreme rhetoric—and the bigoted organizing behind it—when it makes its way into classrooms. In this webinar, we’ll share strategies to counter white nationalist organizing through sample scenarios that schools frequently encounter. Attendees will receive attendance certificates.
Registration is open to OEA Members Only
https://ohea.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIkc-2urzwoGN0q7AtZVTVMgLU1oN-4ZC3a#/registration
School Moms: Parent Activism, Partisan Politics, and the Battle for Public Education
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Citizen Advocates for Public Education (CAPE-Ohio) and Public Education Partners (PEP) will host a community book discussion of School Moms: Parent Activism, Partisan Politics, and the Battle for Public Education on Tuesday, May 7 at Upper Arlington Public Library: Tremont Road Branch, 2800 Tremont Road Upper Arlington, OH 43221.
Please join us and help us increase awareness in our community of the challenges that public education faces in our state and across the country.
Here is the tentative agenda for this event:
5:30-6:00pm – Registrants Check In
6:00-6:10pm – Introduction to School Moms: Parent Activism, Partisan Politics, and the Battle for Public Education– Laura Pappano Beacon Press, 2024 (Jeanne Melvin, Public Education Partners)
6:10-6:50pm – Introduction of Panelists Representing Various Roles/Perspectives within Public Education
1. Stephanie Harless, Local School Board Member
2. Antoinette Miranda, State Board of Education Member, OSU Professor
3. David Stewart, School Superintendent
4. Susan Yutzey, School Librarian
Panelists will be asked to respond to the research Laura Pappano presents in School Moms regarding recent organized attacks on public education and what these challenges mean for the constituencies that the panelists represent.
(Frances Strickland, Citizen Advocates for Public Education, Moderator)
6:50-7:05pm – Audience Response: Audience members who have read School Moms are invited to give their responses to the book. (moderated by Frances Strickland)
7:05-7:30pm – Concluding Thoughts: Panelists will be asked what their hopes are for community involvement in advocating for/defending public education. (moderated by Frances Strickland and Jeanne Melvin)
Sign up here for this free event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parent-activism-and-the-battle-for-public-education-tickets-877541920507?aff=oddtdtcreator
This is an in-person event at the Upper Arlington Public Library on Tremont Road. Those who cannot attend in person may register for a ZOOM link here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwrcu6qpzkpHtHDEDIy0kzyIbP4sTgZvnEG#/registration
March 2024 NEOEA-R Newsletter
Download the NEOEA-R March 2024 Newsletter
- March 26, 2024 NEOEA-R Retired Spring Conference
- OEA Fund Bowing Tournaments
- April 25, 2024 OEA-R Spring Conference
- Zoom with Freedom Fighter Charles Black
- KSEA Mentorship
- OEA-R Report
- Vote for NEOEA Retired Delegates to NEA RA
- May 21, 2024 Holden Arboretum Tour
- NEOEA Legislative Receptions
- Understanding GPO/WEP Replay
- CIFF International Film Festival
- Affiliate Conferences
- Discounts
- NEOEA Calendar
Go to the Newsletters page for past issues.
OEA-R 2024 Spring Election Results
| ADVISORY COUNCIL – Elected by Acclamation
Chair – Mary Binegar, Central |
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https://www.ohea.org/cms/assets/uploads/2024/04/OEAR-2024-Election-Results-Letter.pdf
STRS Active Member Election
OEA Recommends Sandy Smith Fischer for STRS Board
The OEA Board of Directors has recommended Sandy Smith Fischer for election to the STRS Board. She is running for an open seat representing active teachers on the eleven-member board.
Smith Fischer is an Intervention Specialist in the Streetsboro City Schools. She has twice served as President of her local association and is currently a building representative in her local in addition to serving as Secretary of her Leadership Council.
She strongly believes in standing up for others, especially her fellow educators, and sees serving on the STRS Board as a way to continue her advocacy for the profession. As a member of the Board, she will work to maintain a stable and reliable pension for current and future retired teachers, restore benefits, and manage risks to keep our pension system strong.
Ballots will be mailed to active employees who contribute to STRS and should arrive at their homes this week. Members can vote by mail, phone, or internet. Votes must be received by May 6, 2024. If you do not receive a ballot by April 10 or lose your ballot, please email the Election Services help desk at STRSOHHelp@electionservicescorp.com or call 866-276-1506.
For more information about OEA’s recommended candidate for the STRS Board, please visit https://www.ohea.org/get-involved/oea-strs-board-endorsements/
OEA Continues to Advocate for Member Retirement Security
Recommending qualified candidates for retirement system boards is just one way that OEA advocates for the retirement benefits that public education employees need and deserve. Others include advocating for active and retired members in retirement board decisions and legislative advocacy.
In recent years, as the financial status of STRS has improved, there have been several benefit changes to restore benefits to active and retired teachers. This includes a 3% cost-of-living allowance (COLA) for retirees in FY 2023 and a 1% COLA in FY 2024. Additionally, the retiree health care program is fully solvent and has seen lower premiums and rebates for enrollees in recent years.
Regarding retirement eligibility, the years of service required to retire continue to decrease incrementally. Last month, the STRS Board voted unanimously to make a permanent change to retirement eligibility to 34 years of service at any age for full benefits. Additionally, members can retire with reduced benefits with 29 years of service at any age. OEA continues to advocate that benefits be restored to active and retired members as the financial condition of STRS improves.
Additionally, OEA supports legislative proposals to increase the employer contribution to STRS to improve the financial status of the pension plan and speed the restoration of benefits. Employer contribution rates have not changed in decades and lag behind other states. At the same time, employees have seen their benefits cut and their contributions increase. This will be a difficult road, but OEA is committed to working with our members and other stakeholder groups to seek this needed change.
Another area of OEA’s advocacy is in fighting for fairness for public employees by seeking repeal of the unfair Social Security offsets. The Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) are provisions of federal law that reduce the earned Social Security benefits of public employees who also receive a public pension in states like Ohio that do not pay into Social Security. OEA and NEA members have long advocated for repeal of these laws. Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown is the lead sponsor of a bill to repeal GPO and WEP and a bill in the US House of Representatives has over 300 bipartisan cosponsors. OEA members can also help by contacting their State Senator to support House Concurrent Resolution 6, which would urge Congress to support the repeal of GPO and WEP. Members can take action by clicking here.