Food and Kitchen Supplies Bid:  SW/WC SC, along with seven other service cooperatives in the state, will be conducting a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Food and Kitchen Supplies during the coming school year.   As statewide food bids continue to gain strength throughout the country, service cooperatives have a proven track record of saving districts time and money while providing choice in food options and meeting USDA purchasing guidelines on behalf of members.  An e-mail will be going out to our members with an Excel™ spreadsheet entitled Top 50 Food Items. We are asking that the food service manager at our member schools complete the form and email it back to us no later than October 1, 2013. Even if your district does not plan to participate in this program, we would appreciate your response as this information will be invaluable to us as we build our RFP documents.  Please contact Shareen.Neumann@swsc.org if you have questions, or need additional information.

Health and Safety Timeline:  It is a busy time of year as one year is closed out and the next school year begins.  Here are some important upcoming dates regarding Health and Safety.  If you have any questions or need assistance verifying any information please contact Christine Schmitt at 507-537-2262 or christine.schmitt@swsc.org. A link to the H&S website can be found here.

**September 20, 2013 is the last day the capital dataset is updated for levy limit calculations, to allow these to be certified to the county auditor.  Please ensure changes or updates are posted to the H&S website prior to this date.

**November 1, 2013 is the last day to submit closeout documentation in support of PPAs or PPLs/PPBs (provisional approvals). Failure to obtain project approval by this date will change the project status to a NMI, resulting in a reduction of the certified levy from the proposed levy.

**November/December, 2013. Alternative Facilities publication of "notice of intended projects" must be completed "within 20 days of levy certification." Documentation of publication must be maintained for three years after the completion of the project.

**November 2013. Districts should review and reconcile FY 2013 approved project costs and expenditure data reported by the district on UFARS. Staff can use the Minnesota Funding Reports (MFR) posted on the MDE website to review Expenditures by Finance Code.

Annual Fall Health Conference for School and CCOGA Groups:  For groups wishing to receiving funding for their site-based wellness programs is scheduled on September 19, 2013 at the Marshall Golf Club - Marshall, MN.  There is no fee to attend the conference; the conference will begin at 9:30 a.m. and conclude at approximately 3:00 p.m. For more information or to register contact Kari Bailey (kari.bailey@swsc.org or 507-537-2292).

Employer Notice of the Exchange:  By October 1, 2013 every employer is to give notice to all employees a written notice of the exchange.  The DOL has released a model notice and the State of MN has issued their own based on MNSure the State's exchange.  Either notice is ok to provide to your employees.  We have been asked about seasonal, temporary and volunteers on whether they need to be given a notice and the recommendation is that you provide this notice to everyone who has or will receive a W-2.  If you need copies of the notice, please let us know.

ACA Update:  As all of you know the penalties on employers for not offering affordable insurance to eligible employees has been delayed but it is important that as of now other provisions of the ACA are moving forward.  We held a workshop at the Marshall Golf Club with the MN Service Cooperative attorney, Mark Kinney, going over worksheets to help employers with tracking employee hours.  He also discussed the penalties, when they do take effect, that employers will face if they don't offer affordable coverage to eligible employees.  The guidance around ACA continues to come out and the SC will keep you informed of pertinent information when it becomes known.