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SAM SNIDER ANSWERS HARD QUESTIONS
Missouri Education Pensions
1. PSRS (Public School Retirement System) was formed in 1946 as a defined benefit pension plan (DB) to attract and retain the best and most experienced educators possible. Do you support the current defined benefit plan for educators and support staff which is similar to the defined benefit plan for the legislature and statewide officials? (A DB plan pays a monthly benefit for life, a DC plan pays you until you run out of money.)
Samuel supports the current Defined Benefit plan offered to educators and support staff. Samuel believes that our teachers deserve a retirement system that provides the same kind of long term support and security for them as they have provided for our students over the course of their careers.
2. Would you support a legislation that requires all new teachers and support staff to be placed into, or to be given a choice to opt into, a defined contribution plan (DC) such as a 401(k) vs. the current defined benefit (DB) plan (PSRS)? Did you support HB 864 of 2019 Taylor?
Samuel opposes giving teachers or support staff a choice to opt into a 401k defined contribution plan. Samuel believes that our current defined benefit plan gives teachers a reliable guaranteed long term source of income that would be hard to predict in a 401k defined contribution plan.
3. Would you support maintaining the current independent government and independent investment decisions of the Boards of Trustees of the following public education retirement systems: PSRS/PEERS Retirement System, PSRS of Kansas City, MO and PSRS of the City of St. Louis?
Samuel supports maintaining the current independent government and independent investment decisions of the Boards Of Trustees, Samuel believes that government functions best when decisions are made by individuals that are directly invested in the outcomes of the organizations they serve on, and not running the organization as another line item.
4. Would you support consolidating the Public School Retirement System/Public Education Employees Retirement Systems (PSRS/PEERS) with another state retirement system? For example, consolidation through a State Investment Board. What are your feelings on the discussions of consolidating the MOSERS for state employees and MPERS for highway employees such as the Highway Patrol?
Samuel opposes the consolidation of the Public School Retirement System/Public Education Employees Retirement Systems with another state retirement system. Samuel believes that each retirement system should be managed independently of one another, to ensure the individual needs of each retirement system is properly addressed.
5. At times there is legislation that increases the cost of doing business or increases benefits of the PSRS/PEERS system such as certain Work-After-Retirement (WAR) provisions. Would you support legislation that increases the cost to the PSRS/PEERS system currently pre-funded at 84%?
Samuel opposes any legislation that increases the costs of doing business for educator retirement systems. Samuel believes that our education system should not incur cumbersome unfunded mandates that impedes on the ability of educator retirement systems to provide the best possible benefits to the members it represents.
Missouri Public Education
1. Whether it is in the form of a voucher, tax credit, or other means, will you support spending public tax dollars to allow students to attend private schools?
Samuel opposes the use of voucher, tax credit, or other means to send students to private schools. Samuel believes that public education tax recourses be exclusively reserved for the maintenance and improvement of the school district in which the students reside.
2. Will you support the expansion of charter schools statewide as an alternative to traditional schools?
Samuel opposes the expansion of charter schools statewide as an alternative to traditional schools. Samuel believes that our public school system is built with sufficient oversight from tax payers to respond to the unique challenges of individual school districts and that charter schools currently lack the oversight framework necessary to respond to those unique challenges.
3. Currently, Missouri is ranked 49th in the nation in beginning teacher salaries. How would you propose to raise the salaries of public school teachers?
Samuel supports the increase in beginning teacher salaries by the implementation of a State backed salary fund that works in conjunction with individual school districts to provide a higher wage for teachers.
4. Legislators have fully funded the 2005 Foundation Formula for Public Schools the last two years. However, the State Adequacy Target (SAT) which is the baseline amount given to each district per student in schools was supposed to be recalculated every other year, but the SAT as of 2012 has been fixed at the funding rate used in 2005. Even with the $61 million additional revenue to the Foundation Formula this legislative session, those funds spread over the 567 school districts may not even cover the additional health insurance costs for school districts and is one of the reasons for low teacher salaries in Missouri. What would you do to adequately fund the Foundation Formula for Public Schools if anything?
. Samuel supports the implementation of a statewide four day school week to both decrease the overall costs incurred by local school districts and to help provide a better student and teacher learning and mentor experience.
5. Transportation funding for public schools now stands at 15% funded. State policy states that transportation should be funded at 75% of transportation costs. What would your solution be to this inadequate funding of transportation that is particularly important to rural public schools?
Samuel supports the use of alternative funding sources to aid in the mission to fund transportation costs at 75%. Samuel is open to considering proposals, such as the use of leftover funds from classrooms to help close the gap.
Missouri Education Pensions
1. PSRS (Public School Retirement System) was formed in 1946 as a defined benefit pension plan (DB) to attract and retain the best and most experienced educators possible. Do you support the current defined benefit plan for educators and support staff which is similar to the defined benefit plan for the legislature and statewide officials? (A DB plan pays a monthly benefit for life, a DC plan pays you until you run out of money.)
Samuel supports the current Defined Benefit plan offered to educators and support staff. Samuel believes that our teachers deserve a retirement system that provides the same kind of long term support and security for them as they have provided for our students over the course of their careers.
2. Would you support a legislation that requires all new teachers and support staff to be placed into, or to be given a choice to opt into, a defined contribution plan (DC) such as a 401(k) vs. the current defined benefit (DB) plan (PSRS)? Did you support HB 864 of 2019 Taylor?
Samuel opposes giving teachers or support staff a choice to opt into a 401k defined contribution plan. Samuel believes that our current defined benefit plan gives teachers a reliable guaranteed long term source of income that would be hard to predict in a 401k defined contribution plan.
3. Would you support maintaining the current independent government and independent investment decisions of the Boards of Trustees of the following public education retirement systems: PSRS/PEERS Retirement System, PSRS of Kansas City, MO and PSRS of the City of St. Louis?
Samuel supports maintaining the current independent government and independent investment decisions of the Boards Of Trustees, Samuel believes that government functions best when decisions are made by individuals that are directly invested in the outcomes of the organizations they serve on, and not running the organization as another line item.
4. Would you support consolidating the Public School Retirement System/Public Education Employees Retirement Systems (PSRS/PEERS) with another state retirement system? For example, consolidation through a State Investment Board. What are your feelings on the discussions of consolidating the MOSERS for state employees and MPERS for highway employees such as the Highway Patrol?
Samuel opposes the consolidation of the Public School Retirement System/Public Education Employees Retirement Systems with another state retirement system. Samuel believes that each retirement system should be managed independently of one another, to ensure the individual needs of each retirement system is properly addressed.
5. At times there is legislation that increases the cost of doing business or increases benefits of the PSRS/PEERS system such as certain Work-After-Retirement (WAR) provisions. Would you support legislation that increases the cost to the PSRS/PEERS system currently pre-funded at 84%?
Samuel opposes any legislation that increases the costs of doing business for educator retirement systems. Samuel believes that our education system should not incur cumbersome unfunded mandates that impedes on the ability of educator retirement systems to provide the best possible benefits to the members it represents.
Missouri Public Education
1. Whether it is in the form of a voucher, tax credit, or other means, will you support spending public tax dollars to allow students to attend private schools?
Samuel opposes the use of voucher, tax credit, or other means to send students to private schools. Samuel believes that public education tax recourses be exclusively reserved for the maintenance and improvement of the school district in which the students reside.
2. Will you support the expansion of charter schools statewide as an alternative to traditional schools?
Samuel opposes the expansion of charter schools statewide as an alternative to traditional schools. Samuel believes that our public school system is built with sufficient oversight from tax payers to respond to the unique challenges of individual school districts and that charter schools currently lack the oversight framework necessary to respond to those unique challenges.
3. Currently, Missouri is ranked 49th in the nation in beginning teacher salaries. How would you propose to raise the salaries of public school teachers?
Samuel supports the increase in beginning teacher salaries by the implementation of a State backed salary fund that works in conjunction with individual school districts to provide a higher wage for teachers.
4. Legislators have fully funded the 2005 Foundation Formula for Public Schools the last two years. However, the State Adequacy Target (SAT) which is the baseline amount given to each district per student in schools was supposed to be recalculated every other year, but the SAT as of 2012 has been fixed at the funding rate used in 2005. Even with the $61 million additional revenue to the Foundation Formula this legislative session, those funds spread over the 567 school districts may not even cover the additional health insurance costs for school districts and is one of the reasons for low teacher salaries in Missouri. What would you do to adequately fund the Foundation Formula for Public Schools if anything?
. Samuel supports the implementation of a statewide four day school week to both decrease the overall costs incurred by local school districts and to help provide a better student and teacher learning and mentor experience.
5. Transportation funding for public schools now stands at 15% funded. State policy states that transportation should be funded at 75% of transportation costs. What would your solution be to this inadequate funding of transportation that is particularly important to rural public schools?
Samuel supports the use of alternative funding sources to aid in the mission to fund transportation costs at 75%. Samuel is open to considering proposals, such as the use of leftover funds from classrooms to help close the gap.