$40,000 energy grant received
The idea of opting out of the state’s health insurance plan was kicked around Thursday night at the Sulphur Bluff ISD board meeting, and to hopefully come up with options that could benefit teachers, superintendent Dustin Carr promised to look into it.
“I hate it,” Carr said. “I mean, you look at the prices that a family is paying, and if you’re on the highest plan with a family, it’s around $20,000 a year just for the insurance.”
With the passage of SB 1444 through the state legislature this year, school districts can now choose to opt out of the state health insurance plan, managed through the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, called TRS-Active Care. However, if districts choose that, the choice is binding for five years, meaning they cannot return to the system after a year or two.
The TRS-Active Care was created in 2002 to help smaller districts and their employees afford health insurance, and at the time, larger districts were not required to join. However, most districts large and small are enrolled.
A big complaint of the system is the state’s contribution of $75 has not grown with the rising insurance premiums. SBISD contributes the set minimum of $150 to their employees’ premiums. According to TRS monthly rates for 2021-2022 year, employees covering their families on the most expensive plan could spend as much as $31,000 for a plan.
Carr pointed to El Paso ISD, who opted out against state law in 2011, as a success story, but he acknowledged SBISD is much smaller than that urban district. Board members threw out the idea of forming a cooperative with other districts to increasing their bargaining power.
“If you get four or five schools together, that would sure help,” board secretary Zach Collett said.
The district could also play it safe, Carr said, and watch to see what districts opt out this first year. If those districts start to flag in the first year, it might prove wiser to stay in TRS-Active Care.
The deadline to give notice of an opt out is Dec. 31, and Carr said he would look into the matter.
An argument to not opt out is to avoid adverse selection in which the sickest districts enroll in TRS-ActiveCare, driving premiums higher. Also, a financial analysis of a 2017 failed bill similar to SB 1444 stated premiums would be higher for employees remaining in TRS if districts could opt out.
The state could also increase its own contribution to more plans more affordable.
In other items, the district received a $40,000 grant from the State Energy Conservation Office to retrofit their hallways and multipurpose rooms (like the gym foyer or conference rooms) for LED lights. LED lights use up to 90% less energy and last much longer than incandescent bulbs, according to the Department of Energy.
The gyms had recently been retrofitted for LED lights, and Carr said the electric bill has hovered around $6,000 with the older lights.
“It dropped to about $4-5,000 depending on what month it was,” Carr said.