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Ringing
in 2005 takes on special meaning for me and my family this year as I embark
in my new role as a member of the Cherokee County Board of Education.
I am excited about this opportunity to share news from our schools and
look forward to hearing from you.
During
the first week of December, Janet Read and I attended new School Board
Member training along with more than 200 other new school board members
from around the state of Georgia. It was one and a half days of review
of School Law, School Finance, Student Achievement and School Operations.
Not surprisingly, as we spoke with other school board members, we realized
that regardless of the size of the student population, we all shared many
common concerns - austerity cuts, raising test scores, attracting and
retaining the best teachers, principals, support staff and school safety.
By the end of our training, our brains were "overloaded" with information,
but we were energized about having this opportunity to serve.
Ringing
in a new year may mean making resolutions for many of you. Most people
resolve to adopt a healthier lifestyle, stay in touch with far away friends,
take a self-improvement class, etc. How about attend a PTA meeting, spend
more time with your family, or volunteer with a non-profit organization?
In
January, the Georgia State Legislature begins its 2005 session. The Cherokee
County Superintendent and the School Board has met with our Cherokee Legislative
Delegation to discuss our legislative priorities. These priorities include
full funding of mandated programs, restoration of austerity cuts ($13
million), and raising teacher salaries, to name a few. Have you ever written
a letter, e-mailed, or called your representative or senator? They need
to hear from you on these issues, and many more. And be sure to thank
them for their time and consideration. You can stay on top of what is
happening under the Gold Dome by going to www.legis.state.ga.us and click
on the GA Code hyperlink.
Cherokee
County continues to set the pace for others to follow - reference the
recent changes to the policy on Promotion and Retention. High School students
must not only have the required number of credits to promote to the next
grade level, but those credits must include English and Math. Those who
do not meet the new standards will have several opportunities to remediate.
Cherokee County is the only public school system in the state of Georgia
to have such rigorous standards.
I
hope you and your families make wonderful memories in 2005!
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More
small business owners today are turning to executive benefit, also called
non-qualified, plans to help fund retirement programs for themselves and
key employees. Non-qualified plans are so-called because they do not meet
the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code or ERISA for tax-qualified
plans, such as 401(k)s or defined benefit plans.
Executive
benefit plans, which may include bonus, split dollar and deferred compensation
plans, may have more flexible funding options, vesting requirements, distribution
guidelines and reporting requirements than qualified plans. By contrast,
tax-qualified plans offer a number of tax benefits but can be expensive
to administer and have complex regulatory requirements. They also must
generally cover all eligible employees of a business who wish to participate.
If a small business owner wants to provide a retirement benefit for just
himself and maybe two or three key people, a qualified plan generally
won't work if the business has other employees.
Executive
benefits are designed primarily for highly compensated employees and key
people. They allow the employer to choose which select group of key employees
participate in and receive benefits from the plan. This can create the
opportunity to reward key employees, provide powerful incentives for those
employees to remain with the company and fill gaps where other benefits
may fall short. Executive benefits can also be structured to provide a
beneficial arrangement to the business owner. Executive benefits can help
meet the needs of a small business at a competitive cost with fewer administrative
requirements.
Depending
on the plan and its structure, funding may be the responsibility of the
employer, the employee, or shared. Tax benefits may be available for some
types of plans. For more information, contact your financial professional.
Spencer
Duggan is a Financial Consultant. Spencer offers securities through AXA
Advisors, LLC (Member NASD, SIPC) and annuity and insurance products through
an insurance general agency, AXA Network, LLC and its subsidiaries. You
can reach him at (678) 455-4844 or e-mail him at Jonathan.Duggan@axa-advisors.com.
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