Last week the state held two roundtable discussions, one at each school potentially targeted for Level 5 status. The Dever and the Holland schools, both currently Turnaround Schools, were informed a few weeks ago that ea

Holland School Community at the roundtable

ch was a potential state target for takeover. Both schools, in addition to two others similarly chosen, would be the first individual schools so designated in Massachusetts. The city school system in Lawrence has similarly been chosen. Two other Boston Schools, English High School and the E. Greenwood, were chosen last year as so-called Level 4.5 schools and were placed in a semi-Turnaround/semi-charter status, with many of their day-to-day operations being run by a third party outfit called Blueprint.

Dever School community at the forum

At both the Holland and the Dever round-tables, parents and staff made eloquent and for compelling cases why their schools should not be taken over by the state and run by a third party (read: charter) outfit. More than 700 people attended both meetings. A decision on each will be made by State Ed Commissioner Chester in the next few weeks. What the parameters of his decision will mean is unknown at this time, as we are in unknown (and unhappy) territory.

Flexible Spending Plan Saves Money for Members

A while ago the BTU negotiated with the city on a pre-tax benefit called the Flexible Spending Plan. Simply, the plan allows each member to set aside paycheck dollars to be used for out-of-pocket medical, dependent care, and transportation expenses. Following is an excerpt from a recent city announcement, which is timely, inasmuch as the open enrollment period (October 21 to November 22)  is upon us. The BTU will hold an Open Enrollment session on Thursday, November 7 from 2:30 to 4 PM.

Flexible Spending Accounts and Pre-tax Transportation plans are a tremendous opportunity for you to enhance your benefits package. The City of Boston knows that these are highly beneficial programs and wants you to have the opportunity to participate in an IRS Section 125/Flexible Spending Account and/or and IRS Section 132/Transportation Plan administrated by Cafeteria Plan Advisors, Inc. (CPA, Inc.) for the plan year of January 1 to December 31, 2014.

Most employees pay for expenses such as dependent care, medical/dental, work-related parking fees and mass transit on an after-tax basis. These programs allow you to set aside a portion of your paycheck tax-free to pay for those expenses. The result is a reduction in your taxable income, which will give you an increase in your take home pay. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to save between 28-34% in taxes.

See here for the city’s sign-up process and more information, and see here for an explanation about how the plan works.