Benefits Open Enrollment Under Way; Open Houses Start Tomorrow

The benefits open enrollment period is now under way. Employees have until October 30 to select medical, dental, and flexible spending account (FSA) benefits for 2009.  

Details about the new Kaiser Rx plan are featured in the Employee Benefits Briefing, the annual open enrollment newsletter. All open enrollment publications and related details, including information on the new Kaiser Fredericksburg location, are available online at http://www.fcps.edu/DHR/employees/benefits/2009health. Copies of the Employee Benefits Handbook, Employee Benefits Briefing (Edition 8/2008), and 2009 Benefits Cost Comparison have been mailed to all benefits-eligible employees.

Open Enrollment Open Houses

Employees are invited to visit with Office of Benefit Services staff members and health vendors for personalized attention and information. The open houses will be held:

• Thursday, October 16, at Edison High School, from 3 to 6 p.m.
• Thursday, October 23, at Chantilly High School, from 3 to 6 p.m.
• Thursday, October 30, in the Department of Human Resources at Gatehouse Administration Center I, from 3 to 7 p.m.

Flu shots will also be offered on a first-come, first-served basis at each open enrollment open house.

Enrolling in benefits online is simple and secure with UConnect. Log on to www.fcps.edu/DHR/uconnect to check your benefit elections, to make changes, or to enroll. You will receive immediate notification that your elections have been completed in the system. Be sure to check your e-mail messages throughout the open enrollment period for important information about your health coverage and FSA enrollment elections. All benefits-eligible employees will receive 2009 benefits confirmation notices—even if no changes were made during open enrollment.

Information and forms are available online at www.fcps.edu/DHR/employees/benefits. Alternatively, hard copies of completed forms may be mailed or delivered in person throughout the open enrollment period to the Department of Human Resources, Office of Benefit Services, Gatehouse Administration Center I, 8115 Gatehouse Road, suite 2700, Falls Church, VA 22042.  

You must complete your enrollment by October 30. UConnect will be available for enrollment until 7 p.m. on October 30.

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Want to Learn New Skills at Your Own Pace? Try eLearnIT!

The Department of Information Technology’s eLearnIT web site provides, via the Internet, skills development training that is available free of charge to any employee of Fairfax County Public Schools. These courses offer FCPS employees a wide variety of training opportunities designed to enhance critical business, professional, and IT skills.

With eLearnIT you get:

• Access to over 2,000 interactive and engaging online courses at a variety of skill levels—online and self-paced for your training development or for use as a quick reference tool.
  
• Admission to “Books 24x7,” a Skillsoft web site that has thousands of up-to-date, searchable books, online, to be used for study and reference. Favorites can be placed on bookshelves for easy access.
  
• 24x7x365 availability—your time frame and your Windows computer. You can learn at your own pace, bookmark your place for return later, and download courses for work offline.
  
• Online mentoring—quick answers to your specific questions.

Visit http://www.fcps.edu/MTS/TrainingServices/elearn/ to learn more about eLearnIT. Register now and start learning today!

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Register Now for a Preretirement Workshop

The Educational Employees' Retirement Fund of Fairfax County (ERFC) hosts preretirement workshops throughout the school year to help prepare members who are within two years of retirement eligibility. This year’s schedule includes split sessions to address the needs of members in both benefit plan structures: ERFC Legacy (members hired on or before June 30, 2001) and ERFC 2001 (members hired on or after July 1, 2001). Learn more about the specific provisions of the ERFC and VRS retirement plans, as well as the services available to help you determine your own “right time” to retire. 

ERFC Preretirement 2008-09 Workshop Schedule

• Thursday, November 6, 2008.
• Thursday, December 4, 2008.
• Monday, February 2, 2009.
• Thursday, March 12, 2009.
• Tuesday, April 21, 2009.
  

Time: 5 -7 p.m.

Location: Robinson Secondary School, recital hall, 5035 Sideburn Road, Fairfax.

Seating is limited and preregistration is required. To register, send an e-mail to ERFCComm@fcps.edu or send a fax to 703-426-3984 and include:

• your name.
• your employee ID number.
• your work location.
• your date of hire.
• the date of the workshop you want to attend.

Upon request, ERFC can also arrange on-site workshops at your work location for ERFC member audiences of at least 25 guests. For more information, contact the Retirement Office at 703-426-3950, or go to http://www.fcps.edu/ERFC/index.htm.

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FCPS Online Classifieds System Free for Employees

(Note: If you are trying to access the classifieds from your home computer, you will need to use VPN, because the classifieds are located on the FCPS intranet.)

The FCPS Online Classifieds system—which is for employees only and as such can be found on FCPSnet (the FCPS employee intranet) at http://commapps.fcps.edu/classifieds—is a free way for employees to post ads for personally owned items that they are seeking to buy, sell, or give away, such as electronics, real estate, items for children, fitness and sports equipment, furniture, pets, cars, and tickets. It's also a great tool to help an employee look for someone to share a ride to work, find a roommate, or rent real estate.  

Due to server restrictions, electronic photos cannot be uploaded along with postings. Feel free to include information in your posting that a picture is available by e-mail upon request. For answers to some other frequently asked questions, go to http://commapps.fcps.edu/classifieds/FAQ.cfm.

Ads for employee-owned businesses or school or workplace fund-raisers will not be accepted. A complete list of rules of use can be found at http://commapps.fcps.edu/classifieds/Policy.cfm.

The FCPS Online Classifieds system is completely self-service and allows users to post new ads or update or renew existing ads at any time. Highlights and security features of the FCPS Online Classifieds system include:

• A user must log in using his or her existing FCPS network user name and password.
  
• A user must agree to the posted conditions before submitting an ad. A user cannot use his or her FCPS phone number or e-mail address as a listed point of contact.
  
• Active ads are searchable by date, category, and keyword.
  
• Ads will be reviewed by the system administrator before they are posted online. Ads will be approved or denied within two to three business days or as soon as resources allow. An automatic e-mail will be sent upon approval or denial to a user who includes a personal e-mail address as part of his or her contact information.
  
• A user who includes a personal e-mail address as part of his or her contact information will receive an automatic e-mail reminder before the ad is set to expire.

For more information, contact Andy Grunig at andy.grunig@fcps.edu. If you encounter a technical problem, contact Keith Orbe at keith.orbe@fcps.edu.

Send Your Success Stories

Have you used the FCPS Online Classifieds to buy or sell anything or to rent a room or a house, or do you have any other FCPS Online Classifieds success story you would like to share? Send your stories to andy.grunig@fcps.edu.

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