Going Green

This will only impact those Employees who are still receiving paper Direct Deposit slips each month with your Pay Stub information.

February 28, 2019 will be the last time Direct Deposit slips are printed for Washougal School District

This decision supports the goal of responsible use of resources by reducing the costs associated with printing, postage and distributing/handling of the stubs. 

This information and much more, is accessible through the Skyward Employee Access system. This User Guide will help you navigate through Employee Access.

From the home page of the Washougal School District Website:

·     Open the Staff page (upper right corner of the home page)

·     Open the Skyward (WESPaC) Bookmarks (right side of the screen under Staff Bookmarks)

·     Click on the “EA” box next to “Skyward Employee Access”

·     Enter your Login ID and Password (under the login box, be sure your “login area” reads Employee access)

·     If you do not know your Login ID or Password, click on the “Forgot your Login/Password?” link (this will take you to a screen to enter your email, and submit. Your login information should then be emailed to your email)

·     If the “Forgot your Login/Password” process does not work for you, please contact HR or Payroll for additional help

·     See the attached Employee Access tips and tricks guide

We appreciate everyone’s help in our “Going Green” efforts.

Additional Retirement Savings Option

Read about this great opportunity to optimize your retirement funds. 2018-19 OMNI 403(b) Annual Notice

You can find out more on what retirement investment options are available to you that are specific to our district by checking out the OMNI 403(b) Washougal School District website.

Take a moment to review the OMNI 403(b) 4th Quarter 2018 update.

Retirement Planning Seminar Schedule (DRS) & Retirement Outlook

The 2019 Retirement Planning Seminar Schedule is now available from the Department of Retirement Systems. If you are a member of the Washington State Retirement Systems (LEOFF, PERS, PSERS, SERS, TRS, WSPRS) and within five years of retirement, we encourage you to review the seminar information overview, and register online at your convenience. Other options for registering are:

• E-mail DRS at Register@drs.wa.gov or
• Call (360) 664-7300 or 1-888-711-6676

If you do not find a seminar near your location or on a date that is convenient for you, you may be interested in viewing our seminar videos online. 

The Education page provides useful information to help you with your retirement planning regardless of how close or far away it is. You can also sign up for online account access. This access will allow you to review your service credit, contributions, beneficiary information, and much more. You can also create a benefit estimate that is based on the data in your account, and when you’re ready, retire online.

The Winter 2018-2019 Edition of the DRS Retirement Outlook newsletter is available. You can access current and past issues at the Department of Retirement Systems website.

Click on this Retirement Outlook link that will take you to all of the DRS Outlook issues.

Please note:  Due to space limitations, registration for DRS seminars is limited to members of the Washington State Retirement Systems. We are not able to accommodate reservation requests for members of other retirement systems.

Paid Family & Medical Leave Benefits

Beginning in 2020, Washington will be the fifth state in the nation to offer paid family and medical leave benefits. This benefit offers partially paid leave to care for yourself or a loved one in times of serious illness or injury, to bond with a new child joining your home through birth, adoption or foster placement, and for certain military-connected events if you have a family member in active duty service.

As a worker in Washington, you will experience a few changes in 2019. In your first paycheck of 2019, you will notice a new deduction. For example, if your pre-tax wages are $50,000 per year, you may pay up to about $2.44 from each paycheck. Employers contribute to this program too, so we’re in this together.

In 2020, you will be able to apply for leave when you experience a qualifying event and have worked 820 hours (about 16 hours a week, on average) in the year leading up to your date of leave.

This isn’t like paid sick leave; you will file your claim with the Employment Security Department (ESD), and your payment will come from ESD. Typically, you’ll have access to up to 12 weeks of paid leave. You can learn more at www.paidleave.wa.gov/workers.

Do you have questions? Ask your HR or Payroll representative or ask your questions directly to the Paid Family and Medical Leave program at paidleave@esd.wa.gov. You can also find them on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @PaidLeaveWA.