The following Priority Notice was sent to District Administrators today to alert them of a critical Dec. 28 deadline to correct errors in reporting of Years of Experience in NEO Staff that may negatively impact the calculation of subsidy for FY 17.
In reviewing the Staff Data download from Dec. 1, 2015 to be used in the FY 17 Essential Programs and Services (EPS) Funding calculations, the Department found a large number of possible errors related to the Years of Experience for Staff. This potential error could negatively impact the calculation of subsidy for FY 17.
Maine DOE would like to offer School Administrative Units (SAUs) the opportunity to check, correct and verify the years of experience in the Staff Data in NEO, but we have a very short period of time that we are able to collect corrected information. If changes need to be made to the years of experience in the NEO Staff system, they must be done by Dec. 28, 2015. We cannot allow any changes after that date due to statutory deadlines.
Please remember, the Years of Experience in the NEO Staff system should be the years of experience the staff member has in that type of position. In other words, if they have been an Ed Tech for 10 years, but only three of those were in your SAU, then the years of experience are still 10 years. If they were an Ed Tech for five years and then became a Teacher and this is their first year teaching, then they have zero experience as a Teacher. The years of experience depends on how many total years in that type of position, whether in Maine, outside Maine, private, public, a different SAU, or in the current SAU.
The data is currently reflecting many years of experience in FY 16 that is less than the years of experience in FY 15. While some of the data that was in the old MEDMS staff system may have been incorrect, please verify that the new data was put into the NEO Staff system correctly. In most cases, the years of experience should have increased by one year from last year if the staff member is in the same position.
In order to change the Years of Experience for a position in NEO Staff, you should “edit” the position that is already active. You do not need to add a new position.
If you have specific questions about years of experience, you can contact Maine DOE’s Tyler Backus at tyler.backus@maine.gov or 624-6635; Paula Gravelle at paula.b.gravelle@maine.gov or 624-6792; or the MEDMS Helpdesk at MEDMS.Helpdesk@maine.gov or 624-6896.