The Carroll Community School District (CCSD) Board of Education discussed Board Policy 319 regarding the district providing full family and major medical insurance coverage to administrative and director positions during Monday’s night meeting. The board brought the policy up for potential change on budgetary reasons, questioning if the higher paid staff should be receiving health insurance for their family at no cost. Director of Business Affairs, Nicole McCarville, compared CCSD to other school districts in the Raccoon River Conference, such as North Polk, Winterset, Adel-Desoto-Minburn (ADM) and more.
CCSD currently pays 90 percent of family premiums for teachers and other full-time staff, while other districts report paying between 50 to 70 percent. Board member Jim Friel asked if McCarville used similar sized districts, such as Spencer or Denison, to compare data. McCarville said no, as the Raccoon River Conference was the consistent comparing point. Superintendent Dr. Casey Berlau says while CCSD is one of the smaller schools in the Raccoon River Conference, it’s not a bad thing to be competitive with the larger, metro districts.
Board member Duane Horsley says when it comes to negotiations, administration and the board do not just view the insurance premiums, but look at the entire salary and benefit package.
There are 15 positions at CCSD that receive full family and major medical insurance provided through the district. McCarville calculated that if the district would pay the same percentage of premiums for administrative staff as it does for the teachers, it would save the district roughly $35,000 a year. Board member Jill Johnston says $35,000 is such a small percentage of the overall budget that it would leave more of a negative impact than a positive.
Johnston pointed out that the district is always looking for ways to save money and to be fiscal responsible, as they were when deciding to pay for the new transportation facility in cash, saving the district $780,000 in interest and bonding fees. No action was taken during Monday night’s meeting and it is questionable if the policy will be brought up again at future meetings.
