BOE Addresses Traffic at Trumbull School, Insurance Coverage

WATERTOWN — As the Board of Education meeting began on Monday, October 24, Superintendent Dr. Alison Villanueva addressed the traffic situation at John Trumbull Primary School, thanking the community for working with the school district as new traffic patterns are explored to alleviate increased road congestion as students gather at and leave the school.

This week, all traffic was directed to the front of the school, avoiding use of the back gate.

Dr. Villanueva said, "I still stand by that we need a secondary exit just for the number of vehicles that are coming in and out of our school building during arrival and dismissal. But, at this time, with a little delay here and there, and with police presence, we are able to get in and out with a little bit of delay."

She looks forward to a traffic study that is planned and thanked everyone for their patience.

Following her comments, she responded to the board by saying she has no anticipated timeframe for the start of the traffic study. SLR Consulting, the company that will conduct the study, has reviewed the site in person and developed a proposal for the town and school district.

In other business, the superintendent reminded the board that a large portion of the budget is driven by insurance benefits for the six collective bargaining units, and then introduced Alexandra Humble from the Office of the State Comptroller, Healthcare Policy and Benefit Services.

Ms. Humble described how the school district could access to the Connecticut Partnership Plan that is a point of service health insurance plan administered by Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

Monthly premiums are based on the state's overall claims experience of more than 250,000 participants.

There is a zero-dollar co-pay for visits to providers and sites of service on the approved list, which was vetted for quality of care.

For other visits, there is a $15 co-pay.

There is a $250 co-pay for emergency room visits, waived if the need is a true emergency; the high cost is meant to deter use for illnesses that would be better served by a visit to a doctor's office.

Provider of distinction is a list that offers a cash incentive to patients who visit these providers for procedures such as colonoscopies and there are programs to support those with chronic issues such as diabetes.

Coverage is at 100 percent after the annual maximum of $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for families.

Pharmacy is managed by CVS/Caremark with a four-tier payment system for acute and maintenance medications.

Acute medications can be filled at any pharmacy but maintenance medications must be filled at a participating drug store.

There is no deductible for pharmacy but a maximum amount after which coverage is at 100 percent.

Dental and vision are options provided by Cigna, with the latter focusing on hardware such as glasses since the medical plan does cover one vision exam per year.

The Health Enhancement Program supports wellness, which offers long-term savings as well as encourages a healthier population by encouraging preventative care such as wellness exams and preventive screenings.

There is also chronic disease management component to the HEP that targets diabetes, asthma or COPD, heart disease/heart failure, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension.

Applications can be made on the state website and are reviewed either as Watertown BOE as a group or as a partial group; the latter would be if some unions elected against the insurance offering.

Ms. Humble said the presentation was high-level and offered to provide more information should the board like to move forward.

There is a three-year commitment that a group must make if joining the plan.

Ms. Humble said that the plan is attractive because of the pooling and benefits. "Our rate increases are a lot more stable since we do have a larger population."

As the board continued to discuss the idea, they learned that premiums are listed as what the state would charge Watertown and the group itself would determine percentages that dictate what the school district and employees would pay.

Dr. Villanueva announced that the current provider, Cigna, would share information during the next meeting so that the board is as informed as possible.

During the meeting, the board received an overview of the School Based Diversion Initiative from Jeana Bracey and Rebekah Behan, project coordinators from the Child Health and Development Institute.

SBDI is a state supported initiative focused on how schools look at expulsion rates among other factors.

Dr. Villanueva said the school district is experiencing a higher number of expulsions and recommended a review of what could be done to lower this number and avoid expulsions.

A grant is funding this work by CHDI over the next two years.

The presentation noted that the initiative is to better serve children through the behavioral health system rather than juvenile justice system, pointing out that the highest rate of unmet health needs and academic risk is among youth who are arrested or expelled.

The goals of SBDI are to reduce the number of school-based arrests, expulsions, and out-of-school suspensions, to build knowledge and skills among teachers and staff, and to link youth who are at risk to appropriate school and community-based services and supports.

The presentation included a reference to United Way's 2-1-1 hotline, which provides free, confidential access 24/7 to many services, including Mobile Crisis Intervention Services.

Those services bring professional services to where a child is in crisis to assess the situation, offer brief treatment, and link to more care.

The response rate is 45 minutes or less and free for all children in Connecticut; there is no specific definition of crisis and can range from acting out or behavior that might indicate the child is considering self harm or suicide.

While children are held accountable in SBDI, there focus about relationship building than punishment.

The board asked how this work is impacted by students who have no behavioral issues, acknowledged the importance of helping children to build resilience as they face a world with adversity, and noted the importance of including the family to help the child.

Before the meeting adjourned, the board accepted a $450 donation from Joshua McGrath to help pay for students' transportation and field trips.