This holiday season we in HR Services give thanks for all our wonderful members and readers. We are privileged to offer our support for the important work that you do each and every day and we wish you a happy holiday season.
Salary survey data for 2009-10 for teachers and all other district personnel will be released this month in DataCentral. Just log in and find out how easy it is to create customized salary comparison reports for your district. Survey reports (pdfs) will be available to all HR Services members in our HR Library (myTASB access required) on Dec. 16 (teachers) and Jan. 20 (district personnel).
Participation in this year’s Salaries and Benefits in Texas Public Schools survey is lower than usual so HR Services is still accepting district personnel and stipend survey questionnaires. It is not too late to participate 
! Call or send us an e-mail if you need help or more time to complete your survey questionnaire.
As of this date, we still have 30 districts that have not paid their HR Services renewal fees. Unpaid accounts will lose access to all our resources if payment is not received by Dec. 18. Don’t let this happen to you!
The 20th annual HR Academy was held in Austin last month with 116 HR leaders from around the state in attendance. They enjoyed Jed Reed, Garland ISD HR director, as he channeled his inner Mr. Rogers and explained the laundry list of roles and responsibilities for HR leaders. Rick Rodriquez, Waxahachie ISD’s executive director of HR, showed us a live demonstration of video interviewing for new teachers and shared a wealth of practical information on recruiting and staffing. Tim Rocka, director of HR Systems from Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, made the complexities of educator certification and No Child Left Behind seem clear and manageable. Attorney Chris Elizalde with the law firm Walsh, Anderson, Brown, Aldridge & Gallegos P.C., discussed the legal issues that most often confront HR leaders and offered tips on how to prevent problems. TASB staff including April Mabry, Ronda Bauman, and Mary Barrett provided essential information about leaves and absences, records management, and compensation practices, and engaged the group in the fast-paced and fun game, Who Wants to Be an HR Expert. The next HR Academy will take place on Nov. 1–2, 2010.
The following HR Services training events are coming soon:
| Location | Title | Date |
| Region 4 ESC | Get a Grip on the FMLA | Dec. 2 |
| Region 4 ESC | Other Duties as Assigned—Writing Effective Job Descriptions |
Jan. 14 |
| TASB Offices/ Austin |
Staffing Controls for Public Schools | Jan. 28 |
| Region 20 ESC | Get a Grip on the FMLA | Feb. 2 |
| Region 11 ESC | HR Legal Issues for Supervisors | Feb. 2 |
| TASB Offices/ Austin |
Fundamentals of Pay Systems | Feb. 8 |
| TASB Offices/ Austin |
Controlling Complex Pay Systems | Feb. 9 |
| Region 4 ESC | Trim the Fat from Your Files— Managing Personnel Records Effectively |
Feb. 9 |
You can register for all workshops on our Web Site .
Also, don’t forget about the TASPA/Legal Digest Conference, Personnel Law for School Administrators, and the TASPA/TAEE Winter Conference (Dec. 9-11). Both conferences are featured on TASPA’s Web Site.
We take a break from publishing HR Exchange in January. Look for the next issue in your e-mail inbox the first week in February.
