July 2008 Coop Clips

Coop Clips

July 2008

HOME || BUSINESS OFFICE || PREVIOUS ISSUES || PATRONIZE BUSINESSES

Special Dates & Info:

The next Board of Directors Meeting will be held Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Board Meeting Schedule 2 008/2009

All Employee Orientation will be held on
Monday, August 11, 2008
This is the only opportunity to obtain a free replacement Coop ID.

BetterShredders is a document destruction service run by the students at Transition Maple Creek. For a reasonable fee, the students can shred your unwanted documents and materials. If you have items that need to be destroyed, please call Alison or Eileen at Transition Maple Creek, 444-0537 or 444-0539 for details.

Southwest Coop Trivia:

How old will the Coop be this Fall?

A) 49 years
B) 50 years
C) 30 years

Answer:
If you said B, you are correct! Southwest Cooperative will be 50 years old this fall!

Coop Headliners

From the Director....

Please welcome Ms. Christina Sepiol as the new Assistant Director of Southwest Cooperative! Ms. Sepiol will assume this role on July 1, 2008. Ms. Sepiol has worked as an attorney representing public school districts with a focus on student discipline, due process, student records and confidentiality, and disability rights under the IDEA, ADA and Section 504. She is an adjunct professor at Benedictine University and National Louis University. Prior to becoming an attorney, she was employed as a special education teacher (at H.F.) and as the Principal of a therapeutic day school (SPEED Cooperative). Additionally, Ms. Sepiol provides staff development on various topics to educators across Illinois. Ms. Sepiol has assumed various roles during her career in education. She demonstrates a high degree of competency, is well respected, and is an excellent addition to the Southwest Cooperative team.

From the Business Office....

All Released Employees were automatically paid out on June 13, 2008. In addition, upon receipt of notice of an employee's Resignation, that employee will also be paid out in the first possible paycheck following the resignation. All normal deductions including health/dental insurance if applicable will be deducted (coverage will continue through August 31, 2008).

Starting in July, employee leave information will no longer be available on paycheck stubs. Please keep up-to-date and accurate records of your leave time.

Employees not electing insurance benefits for the 2008-2009 school year can fill out an insurance waiver form during the month of August. To retrieve the form, click here. This form is also listed on the forms page of our website.

The month of August is the Open Enrollment period for our health and dental insurance. If you want to change, enroll or cancel your insurance coverage, the paperwork must be turned into the Business Office by August 31, 2008. The new insurance rates are posted on our website. If you have any questions regarding the insurance, please contact Dorothy Keppler at 708-342-5333.

The IRS has announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rates for the final six months of 2008. The rate will increase to 58.5 cents a mile, up from 50.5 cents a mile, for all miles driven between July 1 and December 31, 2008. This rate change will be applied to all reimbursements for approved travel beginning on July 1, 2008. The Travel Reimbursement Form has been updated to reflect this change.

Please Keep In Touch...

Don’t forget to continue to read your Co-op Clips and check your SWCCCASE email throughout the summer. Important information will be sent electronically for the staff as a whole and individually, when needed, and news and information regarding the upcoming school year for staff will be in the Clips around the first work day of each month. Specifically, the staff assignments for 2008-2009 will be sent by mid-July and posted on the SWCCCASE website. If you have no computer access, the administrative office has a computer available for staff to use. We will be open Monday through Thursday from 7 am until 4 pm. If you are not sure how to access your email remotely, click here for directions.