Mike Ferrant From: Daniel Foster <
[email protected]> Sent: Friday, March 26, 2021 10:09 AM To: Testimony Subject: unfair hacking of the teachers retirement Categories: Blue Category My name is Dan Foster and I am a teacher at Grand Isle Elementary School. I am 48 years old and this is my 24th year of teaching... I have literally been teaching for half my life! The recent email I received from our buildings NEA Representative was very alarming and upsetting. The recommendations are to — hike contribution rates, lowering retirement benefits, and eliminating cost-of-living adjustments for active teachers when they retire — put the entire burden of the system's issues on the backs of hard-working teachers." I find this to be unfair and discriminating, singling out teachers/educators as other professions have not been asked to suffer the same loss! I already work in a district that is one of the lowest paying in the state, decreasing my retirement investments / pension benefits and asking me to contribute more funds 24 years into my profession would be catastrophic to myself and my family financially! Requiring more contribution to my retirement/ pension in return for less benefits is unexceptable. I believe similar tactics have been used in the past with a promise of refunding the funds which to my knowledge has never been done! So I ask again, PLEASE do not allow our hard working teachers pensions and retirements to be gutted in an effort to save money. This is a benefit that has been promised and paid for, if the promise is not going to be kept EVERY teacher should be refunded ALL of their money! Thank you for time and effort, Daniel Foster WARNING: This message may contain information that is confidential and/or protected under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act or other lawfully recognized privilege.