Day 23 - Los Angeles lifts its vaccine mandate. A vax card is no longer required.
CalSTRS sucks…
The CDC released a study earlier this week that says children who were NOT vaccinated between the ages of 5 and 11 were hospitalized with Covid at twice the rate of vaccinated children during the Omicron surge. Uh…since children rarely contract Covid, what does that mean? TWO kids were admitted to the hospital? As far as the public is concerned, kids, originally, didn’t get Covid. Then, Omicron came around and kids…still don’t get it. If they do, they have virtually no symptoms.
The Governor issued an EO stating that vaccination is a condition of attendance in K-12 schools…BUT then walked it back until July 2023. Hmmm, I wonder why? Although we’re a blue state, there’s enough “reds” who could conceivably start homeschooling little Johnny and Suzy if forced to vax, thereby decimating federal funding for our public schools. Can’t have that. Better to capitulate to the anti-vaxers and pack 30 to 40 kids in every classroom so our school districts can get top dollar per “head of cattle.” No social distancing here. Besides, the FDA still hasn’t fully approved these vaccines…
4/22/22. Friday
7:30-8:00-I have things to do today so I’m up and running. I go downstairs to greet the animal and see that she pooped in the middle of the floor again (sigh). I sit next to her and rub her tummy, then cue her to go outside. We head to the backyard and I survey my plants while she goes potty. Return inside and cheese for her. I warm my coffee in the microwave and unload the dishwasher [takes 2 minutes].
8:00-8:45 - It rained last night so the yard is a mess. Lexi’s Dad is in town and we’re going to spend the day together which might entail eating outside on my patio. I sweep the entire patio. Because it rained, the debris in the red-rock flower beds floated up and out and onto the patio, where I’m able to sweep it. Now, the red rock beds look clean.
8:45-9:45-I’m running late. Shower. I sit in the shower, drink my coffee, and ice my eyes, while listening to The Daily. Lotion. I put on jeans and a T-shirt. Unfortunately, my hair is filthy so I put it in a ponytail - there’s no time to wash it.
9:45-10:00-I drive to therapy and put my make-up on in the car.
10:00-10:30 - It’s time for my therapy session - it goes well. When it’s over, I text M. that I will pick him up at 11:30.
10:30-11:00 - Even though I’m spending the day with L.’s Dad, it’s still errand day and I have things to do. I drop off clothes at Goodwill then I go to Staples to get two reams of paper and a pack of black Sharpies for L. because the other day, during one of her “privates” [private lessons], she needed to draw lines for her student and couldn’t find a black Sharpie, a staple of every art teacher’s repertoire. I overheard this interaction so I purchased the Sharpies.
11:00-11:30-I have some downtime before I pick up L.’s Dad, so I sit in the Staples parking lot and make calls to CalSTRS regarding my potential retirement. The news is…not good.
It appears that I canNOT retire at 50 UNLESS I’ve been teaching for 30 consecutive years. The fact that I’ve been subbing since 1994 is not applied to the 30-year requirement because my substitute teaching was sporadic. For me and everyone else, retirement can’t occur until 55.
Then, there’s the DEFINED BENEIT vs. CASH BALANCE controversy. If you are a teacher employed with a school district, you are automatically placed into the DEFINED BENEFIT category, which is the same as your basic, run-of-the-mill standard pension. Under these parameters, when you fill out your teacher new-hire paperwork, there is nothing you need to select. You will be automatically placed in the standard pension category. None of this applies to me, however.
If you’re a substitute teacher OR an Adjunct Instructor, you are NOT automatically placed in the pension category. New-hire paperwork for Adjuncts involves options, with the first option, CASH BALANCE, being the first box in the series, DEFINED BENEFIT being the second or third box. If you’re in your 20s and completing the new-hire paperwork as a Sub or Adjunct [my situation], you have no idea what the categories mean and will, statistically, select Box No. 1, which is CASH BALANCE [Note: I have my original new-hire Adjunct and Substitute Teaching paperwork and verified the order of these boxes]. AND, If, by chance, you select nothing, the default option for Adjuncts and Subs is…you guessed it…CASH BALANCE. None of this is ever explained to the new-hire.
But what is CASH BALANCE?
If you are a CASH BALANCE recipient, this means a certain amount of money is set aside for every year/semester that you work. Years and semesters are defined as service credits. When you retire, you will receive a lump sum [CASH BALANCE] based on: 1) the number of service credits you have worked; and 2) your highest 36 months of salary and…that’s it. There is no monthly stipend for you….UNLESS you knew enough to fill out the forms to change from CASH BALANCE to DEFINED BENEFIT at some point in your career. If you didn’t, you’re getting a paltry lump sum when you go out.
Most Adjuncts and/or Subs go along believing that A) they will never actually retire from a sub or adjunct position; or B) when they do retire, they will receive a small monthly stipend for the rest of their lives. Almost all Adjuncts will receive a CASH BALANCE payout…that is, IF they can afford to retire. Most adjuncts can’t. In fact, the head of the CPFA (California Part-Time Faculty Association) was interviewed on Air Talk the other day and actually stated that Adjuncts were NOT part of the CalSTRS pension system as a result of the CASH BALANCE system for part-time teachers (adjuncts and subs).
I learn this when I speak to the CalSTRS representative in the Staples parking lot. I also learn that College No. 1 has NOT reported my service credit to CalSTRS for the past 21 years. To put it simply, CalSTRS has no record that I ever worked for College No. 1! College No. 2 has dutifully reported, but I’ve only been there for 2 years. I can’t retire until the oversight with College No. 1 is corrected because, as it stands now, I only have $46,000 in my CASH BALANCE account when I, apparently, should have much more. The $46,000 appears to be based solely on my subbing history over the past 30 years.
In order to correct this oversight, I need to fill out a “Conversion Request” form [I have no idea why it’s called that when I’m merely trying to have College No. 1 correct the oversight.] The “Conversion” form is a signal to CalSTRS to do a deep dive into service credit totals and highest 36 month salary.
It should be noted that I have the option to convert my $46,000 [CASH BALANCE] into the standard monthly pension system [DEFINED BENEFIT], but the CALSTRS representative on the phone revealed that this is very expensive and results in purchasing…something???…it is unclear what I am purchasing in order to get a measly, monthly stipend.
I think one of the most important “fun facts” to note is that when ANY teacher decides to retire, the pension or lump sum [DEFINED BENEFIT or CASH BALANCE] will NOT kick in for SIX MONTHS!!! This is absolutely ridiculous. When I retired from the state, my monthly pension kicked in the NEXT MONTH. If you’re someone who relies on that monthly stipend from your Sub or Adjunct work, keep in mind that you will be in a wage desert for SIX MONTHS, meaning you won’t receive a penny for half the year. You better have a ‘phat’ emergency fund before you retire from CalSTRS.
11:30-12:00-After receiving this horrible news, I email M. that I’m en route.
12:00-12:30-M. is staying at his brother’s house and gives me a tour. It’s really beautiful and they’ve done extensive renovations
12:30-2:00-M. doesn’t have a car so I drive him back to my house and we take the dog for a walk around the paseo. I tell M. to STOP telling L. that she needs to enroll in a credentialed teaching program. L. does NOT want to be a teacher and confided in me that she is sick of her Dad constantly telling her this is what she should do. I also tell M. that L. needs to purchase a hybrid vehicle before he returns to South Carolina.
2:00-3:45-M. and I go to Outback for lunch and NOBODY is in the restaurant. It is so empty that I ask the hostess if they’re even open. I order coconut shrimp and the baked potato soup and salad combo which is good. M. orders the Alice Jack chicken and says it’s too salty. The staff are masking and we eat indoors. The conversation is filled with M.’s regrets…he never should have sold his Santa Clarita house; he’s priced out of the housing market; he doesn’t have a significant other; he’s too far from L….while at the same time interspersed with how great his life is. He spends most of his time on cruises; shuts the cruise ship ‘clubs’ down every night; ‘dates’ several women at a time during these cruise stints and pits these women against each other; is living life and having fun…
There is a whiplash quality to these conversations and he asks me virtually nothing about myself. We finish lunch and I take M. back to his brother’s house.
4:00-4:30-Home and I have some mint malt balls.
4:30-5:30-I grade a paper.
5:30-6:30-I do a 30-minute Insanity Max - Friday Fight workout.
5:30-9:00-Blog posts. I listen to Dateline: The Thing About Pam.
9:00-10:00-I grade another paper and continue listening to Dateline.
10:00-12:00-Blog posts
12:00-2:00-I upload several blog posts.
2:00-2:45-Kitchen duty and I ready my coffee.
2:45-3:30-Nighttime routine. Bed