Teacher License Fee Fight

It wasn't in the lesson plan, but local teachers are digging deeper into their own pockets to teach. Most are having a hard time adding up their new licensing fees. According to the Dayton Education Association, the new teacher license fees are simply unfair and astronomical.

"You know, I wrote a little letter to the ode said that I thought that Ohio has become a hostile environment for teachers."

Pat Lynch says teachers are already under the gun to improve grades and test scores. However, before they can get into the classroom, they have to pay for their teachers license. It's something Lynch says used to be affordable.

"So over the five years it was 60 dollars, now it's five years 200 dollars, a 233% increase."

Lynch says the Ohio Department of Education didn't give teachers any notice the fees were going up so quickly.

"My biggest problem with it, first of all, it was a stealth deal. No one had heard anything about it, rates going up until close to the end of February and March first was the date that they were going up."

The main reason behind the increase -- background checks, performed by law enforcement for the ODE. Lynch believes, and Carl Wick from the ODE agrees, it's using the extra money to offset costs.

"I'm not happy about it either but we had no alternative because state laws require that we recover all operating expenses associated with a license granting agency."

Carl Wick, an at large member of the ODE says the state must process new licenses in a timely manner. Plus, it was forced to raise fees after Governor Ted Strickland asked them to cut 100-million dollars from their budget. Lynch wonders why the ODE couldn't wait until a later date to slap the increase on educators.

"And the problem was that if we delay it, all of their requests for new licenses or renewing licenses would be delayed because we wouldn't have had adequate resources and money to be able to process those."

The new license fees are for all Ohio teachers. Only three other states have higher licensing fees...New Jersey, Hawaii and New Hampshire. Turn To 2 has also found a new bill that was introduced in the Ohio house. It's House Bill 507. If passed, the legislation would allow teachers to pay license renewal fees in annual installments and to allow a refundable credit against the income tax for educator licensing fees and educator-paid criminal records check fees.

Taxation Frustration

I want to bring you the story of a viewer who got the runaround with the Ohio Department of Taxation. He shares the same name with his deceased father and that's where the problem started. He has a step you can take to get some assistance...his story is below.

University Insurance Fight

A Tipp City teen turned to 2 after fighting with bowling green state university officials after they suggested she should sign up for the university's insurance plan. Lauren Johnson is now attending another college.  Grades didn't keep her from going to the college of her choice but it was her family's insurance plan that did.  I got state lawmakers involved and we're getting results.

"we have bipartisan support, that's always encouraging."
 

What Ohio Representative Diana Fessler is talking about is house bill 495.  If it becomes law, state universities would not be able to require students like Lauren Johnson to purchase the institutions health insurance plan.  Johnson planned to attend bowling green until the university told johnson her families health insurance policy didn't meet their criteria.

"they said that the deductible of 25-hundred dollars was too expensive and that they made this policy so people like student's wouldn't have to spend as much money if i were to have an accident on campus."

State Representative Diana Fessler.

"and when lauren enrolled in, attempted to enroll she was confronted with the decision on the part of the university and said sorry this won't due, you're going to have to up the ante and either change your personal policy or buy into what we want you to have."

Turn to two and the Johnson family notified Fessler about the problem...and she went to work.

"my initial thought was that was the university profiting from the forcing the family to buy into the policy that they preferred the student would have."

Fessler is investigating the money relationship between bgsu and the insurance company and says it doesn't look good.

"this is not a private institution it's a government school, trying to dictate to a family what they believe the family should have in terms of coverage, healthcare coverage for their own family member....i think that's highly problematic."

Fessler says cost is a factor.  The Johnson family told Rep. Fessler if they signed up for the university's plan, it would cost them an extra five thousand dollars a year -- not including Lauren's tuition, room and board.

"i did ask the university to send me all the documentation you have, how you finally decided that the expectation you now have for students is reasonable and necessary and they told me at that time they didn't have any paperwork of that nature."

House bill 495, is now assigned to the insurance committee.  If it gets out of committee, Lauren and her parents may get to testify before state lawmakers.  Fessler says she will also work with Lucas county representative Barbara Sears on the issue until the end of her term.

"representative sears is all over this issue, so from here on out, we're going to be working collaboratively on this bill because she has faced this in her own district."

Since introducing house bill 495, Fessler now has a meeting with an ohio state university lobbyist.  Ohio State and Ohio University are just a few other state schools with an insurance requirement.

Gas Prices...OUTRAGEOUS

As you made the drive home tonight, you may have been shocked at the prices at the pump. Gas prices in the Miami Valley went up as high as $3.45/gallon. The price hike comes as oil hit a new record of $110 a barrel.

Industry insiders say it's the refineries that are causing all the trouble with gas prices. Others blame taxes on the gas and who we're getting it from. No matter the cause, consumers are feeling the pinch on their purses and wallets.

One thing is for sure, prices are partially set by supply and demand. I'm not just talking about U.S. demand but also world demand. It's one of those basic marketing principals many of us learn in middle or high school. My advice, time to start carpooling! I know many of you would love to sound off about our oil and gas issues....so here you go.......

IRS Audit E-Mail

Another new scam brought to the attention of the IRS contains features not previously seen by the IRS. Using a technique calculated to get almost anyone’s attention, the e-mail notifies the recipient that his or her tax return will be audited. This is the first scam of which the IRS is aware that uses this to get the victim to respond.

Unusual for a scam e-mail, it may contain a salutation in the body addressed to the specific recipient by name. Most scam e-mails seen by the IRS are sent using the same technique used by spammers, in which hundreds of thousands of messages are sent to potential victims based on Internet address. Because of the volume, the typical scam e-mail is not personalized.

This e-mail instructs the recipient to click on links to complete forms with personal and account information, which the scammers will use to commit identity theft.

This e-mail is a phony. The IRS does not send unsolicited, tax-account related e-mails to taxpayers.

IRS Refund E-mail

The IRS has seen several variations of a refund-related bogus e-mail which falsely claims to come from the IRS, tells the recipient that he or she is eligible for a tax refund for a specific amount, and instructs the recipient to click on a link in the e-mail to access a refund claim form.

In a new wrinkle, the current version of the refund scam includes two paragraphs that appear to be directed toward tax-exempt organizations that distribute funds to other organizations or individuals. The e-mail contains the name and supposed signature of the Director of the IRS’s Exempt Organizations business division.

This e-mail is a phony. The IRS does not send unsolicited e-mail about tax account matters to individual, business, tax-exempt or other taxpayers.

Filing a tax return is the only way to apply for a tax refund; there is no separate application form. Taxpayers who wish to find out if they are due a refund from their last annual tax return filing may use the “Where’s My Refund?” interactive application on the IRS Web site at IRS.gov. The only official IRS Web site is located at www.irs.gov.

Rebate Phone Calls

At least one scheme using the word “rebate” as part of the lure has been identified. In that scam, consumers receive a phone call from someone identifying himself as an IRS employee. The caller tells the targeted victim that he is eligible for a sizable rebate for filing his taxes early. The caller then states that he needs the target’s bank account information for the direct deposit of the rebate. If the target refuses, he is told that he cannot receive the rebate.

This phone call is a scam. No legislation has yet been enacted that would allow the IRS to provide advance payments to taxpayers or that determines the details of those payments. Moreover, the IRS does not force taxpayers to use direct deposit. Those who opt for direct deposit do so by completing the appropriate section of their tax return, with bank routing and account information, when they file; the IRS tells me they do not gather the information by telephone.