News

DYK? The HCPSS Staff Hub has a plethora of information and links to resources, including vacancies, email, Canvas communities and more. Many of these items require Active Directory login, so be prepared to sign in!

The very top navigation (blue bar) has dropdown menus that take you to instructional sites; links to employee resources and additional services; and more.

Directly under that are buttons for Featured Applications. These are the links most accessed by staff, including email, Workday, Canvas, Synergy and others.

Keep scrolling for News, Circulars and Vacancies. Only News items are emailed but you can check the Hub anytime for new/updated circulars and the latest vacancy announcements.

Scroll a little more for links to important resources, including Canvas communities, Staff Discounts, Retirement Announcements, Sad News, Employee Well-Being, LinkedIn Learning courses, and much more.

The very bottom footer of the Hub is where you’ll find buttons for the HCPSS social media accounts in Twitter and Instagram. (Ignore the Log In link on the left - that’s just for Hub administrators!)

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Anything we’re missing? Email webmaster@hcpss.org with your thoughts and ideas!

On Jan. 18, HCPSS Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano shared with staff the news that all permanent employees will receive a bonus this school year. This is to clarify details around that bonus.

Here are the specifics of the payment procedure:

1. All full-time permanent employees (1.0 FTE positions) will receive $1,800 in bonus payments. The bonus payments to part-time permanent employees will be prorated (i.e., a .6 FTE employee will receive bonus payments equivalent to 60% of the $1,800 with all of the same caveats listed below.)
2. The bonus will be paid in two equal installments. The first installment will be issued as part of the 2/4/22 paychecks. The second installment will be issued as part of the final regular pay in June, on 6/24/22.
3. To be eligible for a bonus payment, the employee must be on active duty or on an FMLA-protected leave on the dates listed below. Staff on paid administrative leave due to COVID-19 are considered as being on active duty.
   1. 1/25/22 for the first installment
   2. 6/1/22 for the second installment
   3. Permanent new hires and rehires who begin work on 1/26/22 or later will not be eligible for either payment.
4. All applicable deductions will be withheld.

Strong passwords are essential to protecting HCPSS systems from attackers. Beginning Monday, January 24, staff passwords that do not meet the minimum password requirements will be denied. To that end:

• Compromised or banned passwords may not be used and must be changed immediately.
• Passwords with low strength must be changed after 90 days.

Impacted staff accounts will be presented with either a warning message that the password will expire or a message that the password must be changed. Staff can ensure their passwords meet the minimum requirements by changing their passwords by clicking on the Change Password button at the bottom of the hcpss.me website.

These new password procedures do not apply to student accounts.

If technical assistance is needed, contact Technology Support at TechSupport@hcpss.org or 410-313-7004 option 1. 

The Internal Revenue Service has issued the 2022 standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business purposes. Effective January 1, 2022, the standard mileage rates for the approved use of an employee-owned vehicle will be 58.5 cents for every mile of business travel driven, an increase of 2.5 cents from the rate for 2021.

Please note:

• Approved travel is reimbursed at the rate in effect at the time the expenses are incurred.
• Reimbursement requests for travel must be submitted through Workday by the 15th of the month following the occurrence of the expense.
• When entering mileage reimbursement requests for travel, select Expense Item, then choose Other Expenses – Other Mileage Reimbursement.
• Both date fields in the Workday mileage expense report should be the last day of the month in which the expense occurred (e.g., for January 2022 Mileage – enter 01/31/2022.).

Information on creating a mileage expense report is available in the Workday Canvas community.

Workday is the official employee system of record for all HCPSS staff. All employees should ensure their personal and professional contact information is correct by logging in to Workday and making appropriate edits.

It is critical to keep your contact information current so that you can be reached in the event of an emergency or in the event of disaster recovery efforts. This also ensures that when employees retire or leave the system, they can still review pay stubs, W-2 forms, etc., by using their personal email address.

Directions on viewing and/or modifying personal contact information can be found in the Workday Canvas Community.
 

Based upon recent information from the State of Maryland, Maryland taxable wages should be reduced by an employee’s Maryland state pension deduction, if applicable. This change will be reflected on the IRS Form W2 for 2022 (issued January 2023) and may impact your 2022 tax returns.

The immediate impact of this change to employees will be a decrease in Maryland state tax withholdings from bi-weekly pay beginning Jan. 7, 2022. While state tax withholdings will be reduced with this adjustment, the calculation of your total Maryland state tax liability will not change.

Employees may review your current State withholding and update your MW507 to elect for additional state tax withholding, as needed. All tax withholding changes must be completed by the employee as a self-service option directly in Workday. Learn more about how to View/Modify State-Local Tax Elections online.

If you have questions or need further assistance updating your tax elections, please contact payroll@hcpss.org. Please contact a tax adviser or professional for tax-related questions specific to your situation.
 

All staff are reminded of HCPSS inclement weather protocols and emergency notification sources. Please see below for details.

Reminder! It is the staff member’s responsibility to check one of the HCPSS notification sources for closing information.

Inclement Weather Protocols

For the 2021-2022 school year, HCPSS has returned to pre-COVID weather protocols. These include school closings, delays and early dismissals when necessary due to severe weather, and apply to all schools and students, including those participating in the Digital Education Center.

Decisions regarding closings due to inclement weather will be made no later than 5:30 a.m. Two-hour delays will be called by 5:30 a.m. and reevaluated for closure no later than 7:30 a.m.

Full details on emergency/weather closings is available online.

Status Code Options

The HCPSS operational code options are:

• Code Green – Normal Operations (in accordance with the HCPSS calendar)
• Code Red – Schools and Offices Closed
• Code Orange – Schools Closed; Offices Open with Liberal Leave in Effect
• Code Blue – Schools Open Two Hours Late
• Code Yellow – Schools Dismiss Early

Staff can learn more about each status option and what the staffing requirements are for each on the HCPSS Status site.

Emergency Notification Sources

The HCPSS emergency notification sources are:

• HCPSS Status website
• HCPSS homepage
• Email/text alerts
• HCPSS Information Hotline (410-313-6666)
• Twitter

HCPSS does not use schools-out.com , e-schoolnews.com or local news stations for any notifications. Only the sources listed above should be used to confirm emergency information.

Staff who have not already done so, or who are not parents in the system are encouraged to sign up for HCPSS email/text notifications. Otherwise, it is the staff member’s responsibility to check one of the above notification sources for closing information.

To subscribe or edit your subscription:

• Staff email/text sign up
• Manage your subscription (non-HCPSS parents/guardians)

PLEASE NOTE! 

• Staff who are parents in the system do not need to sign up, as you already receive these notices.
• If you believe you are signed up to receive messages and are not receiving them, please do not create a new account. Email webmaster@hcpss.org with any issues.  
• If you are unsure if you have already opted in to text messaging, text the word “YES” to 67587.
• Unsubscribing from any school or district email or text will unsubscribe a user from all messaging, including emergency notifications.

Employees may be entitled to claim an Earned Income Tax Credit on their 2021 federal and Maryland resident income tax returns if both their federal adjusted gross income and their earned income is less than the following:

• $51,464 ($57,414 married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children
• $47,915 ($53,865 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children
• $42,158 ($48,108 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child
• $21,430 ($27,380 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children

See attached for details. More information about the Maryland EITC is available at www.marylandtaxes.gov or by calling 1-800-MDTAXES (1-800-638-2937).

It’s National School Psychology Week. Check out the amazing work our school psychologists are doing in this web story. Read more online.

HCPSS staff are invited to view mental health and well-being resources and information on the Employee Well-Being web site and the HCPSS Employee Well-Being Canvas Community.

Resources include the Counseling and Support Services program which employees and their family members may access for free, and the HCPSS Registered Dietitian who is available to speak with staff members one-on-one to provide food and nutrition education as well as assist staff with creating/improving their nutrition-related goals. Contact the registered dietitian to schedule an appointment.