ISD votes against appeal

Feb. 08--TRAVERSE CITY -- Officials at Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District will avoid more time in the courtroom after the board of education voted not to appeal a recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision against the ISD.

More than 200 local educators soon will receive a check for withheld insurance premiums after the court earlier this month made a determination against the ISD in an unfair labor practice case. ISD officials originally mulled appealing the decision but voted against the idea Tuesday.

"Now that we've been through the administrative law judge, (the Michigan Employment Relations Commission) and now the court of appeals -- which we respect -- my recommendation would be to move on," TBAISD Superintendent Mike Hill told the board.

The complaint first filed five years ago maintained a $43,000 portion of employees' health insurance premiums was wrongly withheld following the passage of Public Act 152, which limited the amount employers could contribute to health care costs.

The collective bargaining contract then specified that 90 percent of employee insurance premiums would be covered by the ISD for two months after the contract expired on June 30, 2012. PA 152, however, effectively banned 90 percent coverage support from employers.

ISD officials argued the new law superseded the contract language, but the court ultimately disagreed and claimed the ISD owed the extra percentage for two months of health care.

Hill contended the court battle was not about the $43,000 in health payments, but was instead rooted in fear of a potential $1.5 million funding reduction for violating PA 152. And those fears have since disappeared.

"Going to the (Michigan) Supreme Court would take more time and we are protected," Hill said. "Legal counsel has advised us that we're protected from a 10 percent penalty based on those steps that we've gone through."

The court recognized the initial concern but decided a renegotiated contract could have been inked to address the requirements of PA 152 without modifying the existing contract midway through its term, court documents showed. Four years of attorney fees totaled $23,895 for the ISD, Hill said previously.

___

(c)2017 The Record-Eagle (Traverse City, Mich.)

Visit The Record-Eagle (Traverse City, Mich.) at record-eagle.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.