Lubbock ISD board approves costlier employee health plans

Oct. 24--Lubbock ISD employees will see increased health insurance costs in the upcoming year, but the district will also shell out more.

By a 6-1 vote in a Thursday morning meeting, the Board of Trustees approved a health insurance plan design and wellness incentives for 2015, including increasing costs by 2 percent for employees on the bronze plan and 5 percent on the silver plan. Trustee Laura Vinson voted against the health plan design.

Jeff Baum, chief financial officer for the district, said prices are going up, but for single employees on the district's bronze plan, he said the cost would only go up $2 per month. For the employees with families on that plan, it will go up by $7 per month.

The district is going to kick in more money toward the employee health plans this year at $322 per plan, per month, Baum said.

Vinson said she worries about possible gaps in the insurance plans.

Baum said the board was looking at approving the costs of the benefits and can continue looking at ways to address gaps in coverage for some employees.

If LISD employees participate in a wellness plan that includes a blood draw and talking to a health professional about their health, they get a $75 monthly credit toward their health insurance costs.

For employees on the district's bronze plan, that means a single employee with the wellness credit will pay $29 per month for health insurance. For a family on the bronze plan, the cost is $264 per month, and for families on the silver plan, the cost is $597 per month.

Bill Tarro, executive director of LISD risk management, said after the meeting there is no requirement that employees pay more for being smokers.

"That's something down the road that we're looking at. We're gradually introducing different steps in our wellness program," Tarro said, referring to the start of LISD's wellness plan three years ago as a series of "baby steps."

Three years ago, the district's insurance plan was financially broke, Tarro said.

"Now it has some reserve money," he said.

During the meeting, Trustee James Arnold also talked about how the health insurance plan was bankrupt three years ago.

"The bottom line is, health care is expensive," he said. He said it is a struggle every year that the district needs to be able to pay for.

Accelerated instruction

High school students who take summer school after failing an end-of-course examination in the district have a better chance of passing the test when they retake it, trustees heard at the meeting.

The problem is, it's hard to get students to come to those accelerated instruction programs, said Kathy Rollo, associate superintendent for elementary.

Some students may have missed the second test or the classes because of illness or because their families had prior arrangements to leave town, she said.

"We offer the test three times during the year," Rollo said. "They have to pass all these end-of-course exams to graduate."

Rollo said about one-sixth of the students who failed their test returned for accelerated instruction. Some came back for the re-test, but not the summer school, she said.

The schools did callouts and reminders, but about 50 percent of students did not take advantage of the re-testing or the extra classes.

"It seems like we've got to get more kids there," Dan Pope, board president, said.

The Board of Trustees took no action on the report on accelerated instruction.

A report on the district's Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas was given by Baum.

Since the FIRST program was started 12 years ago, Baum said, the district has received the highest possible rating each year. This year, nothing changed as the district received 70 out of 70 possible points in the rating.

"We just try really hard to make sure we do the right thing," Baum said.

The CFO said the state is considering a more stringent rating system, but LISD welcomes it.

"It could require some additional reporting," Baum said.

The board took no action on the FIRST report.

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