You can find answers to all of your detailed questions for each benefit on our BENEFITS WEBSITE. 

When submitting a claim, each benefit and provider may have a slightly different process. You can look at the contact information for each benefit and provider on the website and use the forms page to identify the relevant forms.  If there are portions of the claim that the school needs to complete, contact HR for help, but most of the time the form will have to start with the employee submitting the request. 

Detailed information on costs can be found on the website. District contribution to benefits can be found in the handbooks or Negotiated Agreement.

Employees can only make changes and adjustments to their benefit elections during the open enrollment period.  It is critical that staff visit with the benefits counselor and make decisions during open enrollment knowing that these elections will be in place from Sept 1 to Sept 1 of the following year. 

The only exception to this is if/when a staff have a qualifying life event (QLE).  QLEs include things like: Death of spouse or child, birth of child, marriage or divorce,  turning 26 or change in coverage or spouse change in job or benefits.  When a staff has a QLE, the should contact HR (Dellene or Becky).  HR will update the information in our system so that you can schedule an enrollment appointment with a benefits counselor.  There is a timeframe (typically 30 days) when this must take place. 

Open enrollment is the time when all employees have the opportunity to change their benefit elections for the upcoming school year. 

Open enrollment typically occurs during the last week of April into the first week of May.  

New benefits that are elected during this time will take effect on September 1st.

Enrollment appoints can be made on the Benefits Website. At the conclusion of your enrollment appointment, you will receive a confirmation email.  You should double check the information and keep that document for your records. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE NEWSLETTER for 2025. 

*Changes to benefit elections are ONLY allowed during this Open Enrollment period.  Any other changes will require a Qualifying Life Event. 

KPS Open Enrollment Newsletter Click Here

• To read the information letter for staff Click Here
• Pamphlet on FMLA Leave can be found Click Here
• Additional Resources on FMLA from the Department of Labor Click Here

• To request FMLA Leave, print THIS form and submit it to Human Resources

After baby arrives, you will need to send a photo of either a letter from the doctor or the birth certificate they give you at the hospital as long as it has a seal on it.

HR will then upload that to the AmeriLife benefit system to approve you for changes. After it is uplaoded, you receive an email with instructions of how to proceed. It will be a relatively easy process by which you will make an appointment with AmeriLife to add the baby as a dependent on your benefits.

Wage and benefit information was previously sent to all employees via email from the Director of Finance.  The information will now be found in the Records system.  Each employee should log into the Records system to view, print and electronically sign their form. 

A video to help employees access their forms can be found HERE as well as the INSTRUCTIONS DOCUMENT.

As employees review their information, they should submit any questions or corrections on THIS GOOGLE FORM.

You can also find How To Read documents linked below.  These will walk you through each line item of your Wage and Benefit Notification form. 

• Certified How to Read Document
• Classified How to Read Document
• Classified Exempt How to Read Document

FAQs

• Classified staff will all get their step increases in September instead of on their anniversary date.  You will see that reflected on your wage and benefit notification. 
• Hourly wages will be assigned to any hours worked within the September pay period. 
• Extra duties for certified staff are all listed together. 
• Certified staff must pay attention to not only the salary, non-index and extra duty amounts, but see the TOTAL SALARY column for their total compensation
• Longevity is an annual stipend added for staff who have been at MA+45 Step 15 for one year.  It will appear on the form as such. 
• All staff should check their elected benefits and ensure that it matches the confirmation they received this spring. 

Certified Staff Salary Schedule

HERE is a link to the Certified Salary Schedule for 25-26.  

Please note the following: 

• All teachers start at Step 3 and remain at that step until their 4th  year of teaching. 
• Teachers can only move one vertical step per year
• Classes for horizontal advancement require preapproval on an advancement form. 
• Only classes completed AFTER the Master's degree will count for post-MA placements. 
• Post Master's coursework must meet the criteria outlined in the Negotiated Agreement. 

Log in to Unified Talent Records with your credentials Here. 

• Username: kearneycats email
• Password: Same log in as your perform account. Note: if you are needing this reset, please contact Human Resources. Below are their contacts, if needed: 
  • Dellene Bosard, Administrators, Certified, and Substitute Staff - dbosard@kearneycats.com
  • Becky Noetzelman, Classified and Classified Exempt - rebnoetzelman@kearneycats.com
• Once logged in, you will want to click the 9 squares in the upper right hand corner and select "Records" 
• On the left hand side, click "Available Forms"
• You will then see "Direct Deposit Agreement". Please fill out the form with your new, updated banking information. Once filled out and submitted, the information will then be sent over to Payroll to make the necessary changes. 
• Drop off a voided check or letter from your bank to the District Admin Building for a second level of verification.

*Forms must be submitted by the 7th of each month in order to be processed for that month's payroll. 

Log in to Unified Talent Records with your credentials Here. 

• Username: kearneycats email. 
• Password: Same log in as your perform account. Note: if you are needing this reset, please contact Human Resources. Below is their contact information, if needed: 
  • Dellene Bosard, Administrators, Certified, and Substitute Staff - dbosard@kearneycats.com
  • Becky Noetzelman, Classified and Classified Exempt - rebnoetzelman@kearneycats.com
• Once logged in, you will want to click the 9 squares in the upper right hand corner, and select "Records". 
• To the left hand side, click on "Available Forms" 
• You will then see "W-4" and "NE Withholding Allowance Certificate" - Please fill out both forms with the updated information. 
• Once filled out and submitted, the information will then be sent over to Payroll to make the necessary changes. 
• If you need to have additional money withheld, please specify a dollar amount in step 4(c) for federal taxes and the additional amount line for state taxes. 

• All employees are paid on a monthly basis on the 20th. Should a holiday interfere with this schedule, payroll will shift their processes so that payroll goes into effect on one of the preceding business days. 

• After receiving at least one paycheck from KPS, you are able to use the "Paycheck Simulator" to see how future deductions may affect your take-home pay. 
• Log in to iVision HERE using your credentials. 
• Towards the mid-left of the screen, click 'View all Checks'. 
• Click on one of your most recent checks.
• To the left, click on "My Pay".
• To the mid-right of the screen there is a button that says "Simulate Paycheck" - click there. 
• On this screen, you can adjust any of your deductions to see how they might affect your overall take-home pay on your next pay check. After you've entered the changes you anticipate or would like to see how they might change your take-home pay - scroll to the bottom of the screen and click "Calculate".
• Scroll back up to the top of the screen to see "Net Pay" - this will give you an estimated look at how potential changes in your deductions could affect your net, take-home pay. 

Questions about how the simulator works can be directed to the payroll department by emailing Michelle Bond (micbond@kearneycats.com) or Joel Mundorf (joemundorf@kearneycats.com). 

Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, KPS will issue extra-duty contracts annually.  The intent of this change is to ensure that we are communicating to all staff members about their assigned extra duties for the year and have accurate determinations on pay prior to running September payroll.  These contracts are not tied to certified contracts because extra duty assignments can be changed at any time and are separate from certified positions. 

• If a staff member signed a 409(A) form to be paid out over 10 months, that is separate from the extra duty contract.  
• Once extra duty positions have been verified by principals and the AD, then Finance will begin issuing the contracts.  This means that some people may receive their contracts before others, as Finance is waiting on principal approval. 
• Every staff member who serves in an extra duty assignment will receive a contract. 
• There should be one contract for each person, and it will list ALL of the extra duties for that staff member. 
• If you believe you are missing one or have one by accident, please contact Finance to make the correction by filling out THIS google form.
•  When calculating your Level, remember that stipends advance one level for every TWO years of experience.  You can see the Negotiated Agreement for clear language or look at the guidance used by Mr. Hogue. If you feel that your Level is an error, you can also complete THIS google form. 
• Extra Duty contracts are completed by a process that involves a variety of people and steps.  In order to direct your question to the most appropriate person, please use THIS form for all other questions. 

Our Certified Staff operate under a PTO (Paid Time Off) leave model.  PTO leave can be used for any reason the employee chooses.  It covers illness, family matters, bereavement, professional development at the employee's request, vacations, mental health days, etc. 

Each staff member receives 16 PTO days annually.  Those days will roll over into a bank of up to 50 days.  Any days above 50 will be paid out to the employee annually at $100 per day. 

Staff are limited to 5 days per term, 5 consecutive days and only 5% of staff can request any day off.  Exceptions would be emergency situations and unplanned illness.  

Staff are allowed to leave at 3:30 or take up to 30 minutes during their plan period for occasional errands, appointments, and children's events. etc. at the discretion and approval of the principal.  This does not need to be entered as PTO.   

More details regarding leave can be found on the LEAVE PAGE. 

Yes, unless it is an emergency or last-minute. 

Teachers have the ability to go in and create a "preferred sub list" in the system.  When leave it entered, it will send the message to your preferred sub list first.  In the event that leave is entered last minute, or if it is unfilled the day prior, it will send messaging out to the entire sub list to find coverage. 

Our Classified Staff earn leave in a variety of categories.  Any classified employee who works 20 hours per week or more is eligible for 12 sick days.  Additionally, staff who work 12 months are also eligible for 20 vacation days annually.  

Classified Staff may also have access to bereavement leave if they work 20 hours or more per week and staff who work 35 hours or more per week are also entitled to holiday pay.  

Details of the Classified Staff leave can be found in the HANDBOOK. 

All leave must be approved by your supervisor and consideration will be given to workload, time of year, duration and the circumstances of the requested leave. 

If you are interested in being a sub, you can start on the KPS Become a Sub webpage.  Most of the information can be found there.  

• You can also find the NDE website regarding Substitute teachers HERE. 
• It generally takes 4 - 6 weeks for a certificate to be issued. Once that happens, you contact Dellene Bosard at the KPS Administration Building. 
  • Dellene - 308-698-8013 / dbosard@kearneycats.com
• While you are waiting for your certificate to be issued, you can complete the online application for substitute teachers. This application will trigger us to start the process of getting you entered into our system for our platforms to issue and email you all of the necessary paperwork for payroll.