11/21/16
A&R is operating under a contract "extension" agreement with the State. This means the language of our contract continues to apply, however, no "new" money is provided.
Our contract ended on June 30, 2016 and therefore did not require any State funds to be added for Tuition Reimbursement nor towards Professional Development/Conferences for July 1, 2016. Since no "new" money was added to these funds, we are now operating only on the remaining "carry-over" funds from the prior contract year.
The Tuition Reimbursement and Professional Development programs are administered and funded by the State. The A&R collective bargaining agreement calls for the State to provide these reimbursement benefit, however, but both programs are State operated and funded.
Tuition Reimbursement Fund:
The Tuition Reimbursement funds are all encumbered at this point and there will be very few (if any) immediate reimbursements for classes taken in the Fall 2016 semester. However, for those taking courses, continue to submit the appropriate paperwork and follow-up documentation to your agency's Tuition Reimbursement Officer (TRO). We will eventually have a contract with the State and that contract will be retro-active to July 1, 2016. It is our intent to seek fulfillment of all tuition reimbursement requests submitted during the period of time that we did not have a successor agreement in place. Retro-active tuition reimbursement funding is not guaranteed but it is our objective and the paperwork must be submitted properly in order to secure reimbursement. As a final note, agencies will accept the paperwork but will NOT be sending it over to the Comptroller's Office for final processing and payment until there is money in the fund.
Professional Development and Conference fund:
There remains a limited amount of carry-over funds in the Professional Development and Conference fund. As of now, A&R members can continue to access this fund. If this fund becomes depleted, it is possible that we can be awarded retroactive funding to cover any shortfall when we acheive a successor contract agreement.