Effective 9/1/00, the Staff Training Assistance Program (STAP) will change to an annual allotment. Supervisors need to be aware of this change and disseminate the information to staff.

The STAP allotment is a total of $800 per fiscal year for all eligible staff working 50% time or more. The change is that staff have more flexibility in the use of STAP funds and are no longer constrained by the quarterly or semester amounts. Staff will be able to use the total $800 allotment for training and development in one lump sum or when needed during the fiscal year in varying amounts.

Examples:

1. a staff member attends a conference with a registration fee of $1,000, and uses their entire year's allotment, $800, for that conference.
2. a staff member attends a seminar with a registration fee of $300, and two months later, attends a class with a registration fee of $250. Then, four months later, the same staff member attends another class with a fee of $300. The final class is reimbursed at $250, because the staff member has already used $550 for the first two classes, leaving $250 of their $800 annual allotment.

STAP provides for reimbursement of tuition costs, registration fees and required textbooks for any training activity directly related to a staff person's job or that is a career development effort. STAP is available immediately upon hire for eligible staff.

Last Sunday evening Mary West passed away after her long battle with cancer. She died quickly and peacefully at the Hospice here in Monterey. Mary had been a "casual" employee at the Miller Library since 1981 and worked up until June of this year. She came in every Wednesday and also helped cover when Sue took vacation or to work on special projects. She was someone you could always count on when there was a need. Mary showed amazing strength and never let the cancer hold her back. Even when undergoing chemotherapy, she would schedule it on a Thursday so she would be recovered and ready to work the following Wednesday. Sue and I are still trying to adjust to Mary's absence and deal with the grief we both feel at losing a friend and colleague.