Benefits Corner

C O R N E R B E N E F I T S Did you know that identity theft quadrupled from 2017 to 2018 when more than 60 million Americans were impacted? Those are scary numbers and definitely got our attention. So, what is ProtectEd and how can it help protect families? Cyber-Security Part II: Protecting Employees, Parents, and Students

ProtectEd is an advanced level identity theft product. It includes the following protection: Dark Web Monitoring, Financial Transactions, Credit Monitoring, Credit/Debit Card Activity, IP Address monitoring, Student Loan Activity, Tax Fraud Refund Advances, Sex Offender Alerts, 24/7 Advocate Remediation Services and the monitoring of Social Media and Cyber-bulling threats.

Wait! Social Media Monitoring…Cyber-bullying? That’s right! ProtectEd can help you parent your children! Some may have tight reigns on our kids social media but many have no idea what is being discussed on social platforms. ProtectEd will monitor for mentions of vulgarity, threats, explicit content, violence (including the mention of weapons, etc) and cyber-bullying.

Example: Little Johnny gets a message from Bubba on Facebook. Bubba mentions that he’s bringing his gun to Johnny’s house. As a parent, you would get notification and be able to determine what your next steps are. You may already know that Bubba is a friend who Johnny hunts with or you may not know Bubba and be positioned to ask questions to better understand why a gun is being brought to your home.

ProtectEd can be offered to employees and parents through your PTA organizations. For more information please contact kylie.joseph@ebiteam.com.

Asked & Answered

The question from a first-year superintendent goes something like this, "Who is my district's representative on the County Equalization Board (EQ) and when is his/ her term up for reappointment?" I know of no site where this information is available for all 75 counties so my answer was to call the county courthouse and ask for the county clerk's office. If they don't have the information, ask for the county judge's office.

ACA 26-27-304 outlines the selection of EQ board members. In general, one member of the EQ shall be selected by the representatives of the school districts in the county. It's one member if the county EQ has 5 members, and two if the county EQ has 9 members. A county has a 9-member EQ board if the population in the county exceeds 79,000. EQ board member terms at 3 years. The EQ board typically meets as often as necessary from August 1 to October 1 to review and equalize county assessments as assessed by the county tax assessor. The board also serves as a "court of appeals" to hear and resolve valuation disagreements between the county assessor and property owners. Find out who your EQ representative is, reach out to them, and make sure they know the importance of property taxes to your district!

If you have questions for Mike, email them to a.mcnabb@theaaea.org.

2020 Above and Beyond Recognition

On December 14, 2012, Newton, Connecticut Elementary School Principal Dawn Hochsprung gave her life in service to her school community. In her memory, the Arkansas Association of Elementary School Principals. would like to honor a PK-12th grade Arkansas principal and current AAEA member who has gone above and beyond in service to his or her school community.

If you know an Arkansas principal who has made a significant impact on his or her school or community, please nominate them for this award.

Click here to download a fillable PDF nomination form. Deadline to submit the nomination form is April 30, 2020. See form for details.