Members Drive Our Pension Agenda
BREAKING: On January 10, the legislative pension task force reached a framework to strengthen the teachers' retirement system. Read more here.
A pension is a promise. And to ensure the state keeps its promise to thousands of teachers and public employees, Vermont-NEA has empowered a member-driven group of advocates who drive our union’s pension efforts.
These advocates serve in two general roles. An 18-member Vermont-NEA Pension Task Force was formed in the spring after the Vermont-NEA Board of Directors sought applicants. This group of dedicated members is co-chaired by Alison Sylvester, a Springfield Teachers Association member and the elected vice president of Vermont-NEA, and Champlain Valley EA’s Peter Booth. This 18-member group serves as your union’s pension policy hub.
Meet Your Team on the Legislature’s Pension Task Force
Members also drive the conversation at the legislature’s Pension Benefits, Design and Funding Task Force. You board of directors sought applications for our three slots on the task force. The three – who have already put in countless hours of work – are:
Kate McCann, an educator since 1998, teaches Algebra II and Advanced Placement Statistics at U-32 Middle & High School in Montpelier. Kate is a National Board Certified Teacher in Mathematics, the 2017 Vermont State Teacher of the Year, a former Albert Einstein Fellow, a 2015 recipient of the Presidential award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching and is a local leader in the Washington Central Educators Union.
Molly Stoner is a 4th grade teacher in southern Vermont and has served multiple years as the Elementary Vice President for the Windham Southeast Education Association and chairperson of her local’s Political Education Action Committee. Over her 29 years of teaching, she has been a classroom and academic support teacher in grades 1-6 and been principal of a small, nature-based independent school.
Andrew Emrich is a kindergarten teacher at Thatcher Brook Primary School in Waterbury who has been teaching for over a decade. During this year, he was the remote kindergarten teacher for the entire Harwood Unified Union School District through its Remote Academy Program. When the 2021-22 school year begins, he will be taking on a new role as the kindergarten math and literacy interventionist at Thatcher Brook. Andrew serves on the Vermont-NEA Board of Directors and is a proud and active leader in the Harwood Unified Education Association, where he has served in various roles including building rep, grievance chair and co-lead negotiator.
Stay Informed
NEW! Read the December 17 update from your pension team by clicking here.
NEW! View the legislature's pension task force Nov. 1 public hearing by clicking right here.
Missed our Oct. 18 Pension Telephone Town Hall? No worries, we've got you covered right here.
The legislature's pension task force has issued its interim report. Read the report.
Treasurer Beth Pearce issued a report that shows adding one-time funds and creating a dedicated source of revenue can have a substantial impact on reducing the pensions’ long-term funding issues. Check out the report.
Your union has long made the call for additional one-time infusions of money and for a dedicated revenue source funded by increasing taxes on Vermont’s wealthiest. The flood of federal money and predictions of state surpluses makes now the perfect time to act. Read more here.
Keep track of the legislative task force’s work right here. And click here to tune-in live to the task force’s work as well as to view previous meetings.
Check out our regular pension updates here. And review even more of our pension resources right here.