July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Insurance cost is on the rise for Jay schools (05/23/06)
Jay School Board
By By BETH A. CLAYTON-
A medical/dental/vision insurance provider plan for Jay Schools employees won approval Monday on a split vote.
The board voted 5-1 to remain with the current providers — Principal Life and Delta Dental — despite an overall premium increase of 10.5 percent.
Mike Shannon cast the dissenting vote.
Jay Schools business manager Brad DeRome explained that the increase is due largely to health insurance increases nationwide and the unusually high number of medical claims this year. DeRome said that the school corporation has already had 12 claims which exceeded $50,000 each this year alone.
“We’ve had a lot of increased claims this year which worked against us in the marketplace,” said DeRome.
The recommendation for this policy was made based on the findings of the Insurance Committee and Richard Sutton, an insurance consultant.
While the average overall premium increase is 10.5 percent, that number could vary vastly depending upon the type of coverage an employee has and whether the employee is categorized as a certified teacher or support staff.
For instance, certified teachers carrying Plan ‘A’ for a single person are required to pay only 5 percent due to their contract, which could change when their two-year contract expires at the close of this school year.
“We’ll just have to go back to the collective bargaining table and see what happens,” said DeRome.
However, three years ago, the board voted to freeze the school corporation contribution at a certain dollar amount for all support staff, but offered several plans from which employees could choose.
Under the new changes, a member of support staff holding Plan ‘A’ for a single employee could pay as much as 73 percent more for insurance in 2006-2007 than in 2005-2006.
“Do I expect people to be happy? No,” said DeRome. “I wish it was different, but my hands are tied.”
DeRome went on to explain that employees tend to like Plan ‘A’ because it has lower deductibles, but that employees will have the opportunity to modify their plan.
“I anticipate you having a lot of employees who are going to have to make some tough decisions if they want to stay in Plan ‘A,’ said DeRome.
Though board members voted to approve the plan, it was a reluctant decision for some.
“This is something I think the board takes very seriously, and I don’t think anyone at the table is comfortable with it,” said board member Bryan Alexander. “But there’s no possible way to do anything else now.”
DeRome also pointed out that money the school board uses to pay insurance premiums comes from the same fund as teacher salary and other expenses, meaning that even if the school corporation were able to pay for insurance, other areas could suffer.
In related business, DeRome presented the financial statement for April, which showed that medical claims for the month totaled $337,000, which is $106,000 less than in March. It is a welcome decrease after three months of well above-average claims.
Year to date medical claims now total $1,668,000, which DeRome said is on pace to total $5 million for the year; $323,000 higher than in 2005.
The board also briefly discussed the Capital Projects Plan for 2007.
Though no decisions were made on which projects to pursue, teachers and administrators at all Jay County schools submitted a list of building wants and needs, ranging from new classroom clocks at Bloomfield Elementary School to the pending roof replacement at West Jay Middle School.
About $3 million worth of repairs pertaining mostly to health and safety were highlighted.
“That’s pretty consistent with what we think we’ll be able to spend,” said DeRome.
DeRome added that the list was sort of a “rough draft” and that a more complete and accurate list would be available in late June or early July for board action.
In other business, the board:
• Granted DeRome permission to issue a purchase order in the amount of $33,953.50 to Bell Industries, for a Microsoft license agreement for 1,246 school corporation computers.
School corporation policy requires board approval for purchase orders greater than $25,000.
• Approved school lunch prices for the 2006-2007 school year.
All lunch prices will reflect a 5-cent increase next year, except reduced price breakfast and lunches, which are priced by the USDA and will remain the same.
• Approved Latch Key prices for the 2006-2007 school year. All rates, including those for students on free or reduced-price lunches will increase by 25 cents per hour.
• Approved preschool fees for the 2006-2007 school year.
In the past, there has been no price differentiation between two- and three-day programs, but now students registered to attend three days a week will pay $35 instead $25, which will be the fee for students registered to attend two days per week.
• Approved substitute teacher and bus driver pay to remain at $60 per day.
• Approved after-school tutoring and detention rates of pay.
Rates will remain the same with the exception of after school detention at West Jay Middle School.
The rate has been lower there because detention at West Jay is shorter. Superintendent Barbara Downing said that historically, the board has given principals the right to set their own disciplinary measures, but noted that the policy has been in effect so long that West Jay principal Michael Crull and East Jay principal Lee Newman are likely unaware of the discrepancy.
Downing said it would be brought to their attention and resubmitted for board approval at a later meeting.
• Approved revisions to the School Improvement Plans of all ten Jay schools.
State law requires all schools to review its improvement policy yearly and submit it for board approval.
Revisions this year were minor as the complete plans were written only one year ago.
• Approved receipt of several donations, including $500 from the Westlawn PTO for a new air conditioner for the Westlawn Elementary nurses station; $150 from the American Legion Post #211, $100 from the Loyal Order of Moose, $60 from Moser Engineering, $50 from F.O.E. #928, and $30 from Tri Kappa Sorority for the first grade reading program at General Shanks; $1,000 for the Redkey Elementary PTO for a new kiln and $1,500, also from the Redkey PTO, for the leveled reading library.
• Voted to permit the Portland Alumni Association to use the original stone headers that were above the front doors of the old Portland High School to erect a monument on the property of East Jay Middle School, the former site of Portland High School.
The Alumni Association will provide the funds to place the stone headers, currently stored in the old bus barn at East Jay. The monument will stand approximately 36 inches tall, 24 inches deep and 164 inches long. A plaque containing information about Portland High School will be placed with the sign.
• Approved acceptance of a 2006 LSTA Technology Grant in the amount of $3,095 from the Indiana State Library Advisory Council.
The grant has been approved to purchase Tablet PCs for up to $1,500 and one SmartBoard for up to $1,595.
The grant was applied for by Cathi A. Godfrey, project director at Jay County High School.
• Approved for adoption textbooks recommended by the textbook committees and their rental fees.
Books for Jay Schools are selected on a five-year rotating basis. This year, art and music texts were selected for the elementary schools and the middle and high schools got new music, art and career technical books.
Trent Paxson, Judge Haynes Elementary principal head the textbook adoption committee at the elementary level and Lee Newman, principal at East Jay Middle School, headed the committee at the middle and high school levels.
• Approved the first reading of the Wellness Policy as presented by the Wellness Policy Committee, comprised of teachers, parents, administrators and board members.
Federal law requires that all schools have a wellness policy in place by the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year.
The policy sets goals concerning nutrition, physical activity and education surrounding these two areas.
• Accepted the resignations and retirements of several employees, including the retirements of Mike Rathbun, Industrial Technology teacher at JCHS, Cindy VanSkyock, food service secretary at JCHS, Judy Mitchel, instructional assistant at Westlawn Elementary school and Kay Hough, bus driver.
• Scheduled a special public meeting to be held on July 5 at noon for the legal purpose of an organizational meeting.[[In-content Ad]]An issue that has recently been the topic of athletic debate at Jay County High School was laid to rest Monday — at least until next year — when the Jay School Board adopted student handbooks for the elementary, middle and high schools.
The board chose not to change a policy that allows coaches to decide whether or not students may participate in two Indiana High School Athletic Association sports during the same season.
While the IHSAA does not prohibit students from participating in multiple sports, a recent survey of Jay County coaches indicates that some, though not most, forbid the practice.
“A lot of this has to do with the philosophy of the coach,” said JCHS principal Dr. Wood Barwick, who presented the proposed handbook to the board. He went on to add that coaches are charged with helping a student reach his or her full athletic potential, and in some cases that may mean requiring them to focus only on one sport at a time.
In addition, Barwick pointed out that a student’s athletic performance reflects on a coach’s abilities.
“They get evaluated on that,” said Barwick.
The student handbook currently states that due to the time and energy required to participate in athletics and the necessity of maintaining high academic standards, students may only participate in one IHSAA sport per season.
However, if a student is determined to play multiple sports in the same season, a meeting must be held with the athlete, his or her parents, the head coaches of both sports and the athletic director. The meeting is designed to determine the feasibility of attending events for both sports and the overall welfare of the athlete and coaching staff. The athletic director holds the authority to make the final decision.
Though the board voted unanimously to keep the current policy in place, it was not without hesitation for some.
“I don’t think we change it, but we need to watch it,” said board member Greg Wellman. “We walk a fine line in allowing the coach to control the kid’s life.”
There were, however, changes approved that make the athletic disciplinary policy more strict.
Currently, any student found to be in possession of or using controlled substances, including abusing over the counter medication, or stealing, on or off school grounds, would have the option of choosing between suspension from athletics, including practice, for 25 percent of the season, or setting up an evaluation appointment and attending counseling at an approved organization.
Upon a second offense, the student would be forced to sit out 50 percent of the season as well as undergo counseling. A third offense meant suspension from athletics for a full year and counseling before being able to return to a sport the following season.
“We’re not sending a hard enough message,” said board president Doug Inman. “With ‘or’ it’s just a slap on the wrist.”
Under changes adopted Monday, students who have committed their first offense will not have the option of choosing between athletic suspension and counseling, but will undergo both. Furthermore, the student will have to “satisfactorily” complete a treatment program deemed necessary at their initial evaluation.
Board member Mike Shannon felt a greater emphasis should be placed on the student receiving treatment for any substance abuse problem they may have.
“Sending a kid to one counseling session is like telling them to go stand in the corner,” he said.
However, students will be allowed to continue practicing their sport while they complete treatment.
“Now that I’m looking at it, it should have been ‘and’ a long time ago,” said Barwick. “We knew this wasn’t exactly the policy we needed, but we hadn’t really had an in-depth discussion about it until now. But that’s why you bring it to the board.”
On second and third offenses, a student will be required to complete a treatment program as well as punishments previously in effect.
The middle school handbook was subsequently amended to reflect changes made to the high school handbook.
Other handbook changes include updating the language stating the dress code for elementary students to make it consistent with the middle school policy, and broadening the definition of electronics prohibited by students on school grounds at both the elementary and middle school levels.
The board voted 5-1 to remain with the current providers — Principal Life and Delta Dental — despite an overall premium increase of 10.5 percent.
Mike Shannon cast the dissenting vote.
Jay Schools business manager Brad DeRome explained that the increase is due largely to health insurance increases nationwide and the unusually high number of medical claims this year. DeRome said that the school corporation has already had 12 claims which exceeded $50,000 each this year alone.
“We’ve had a lot of increased claims this year which worked against us in the marketplace,” said DeRome.
The recommendation for this policy was made based on the findings of the Insurance Committee and Richard Sutton, an insurance consultant.
While the average overall premium increase is 10.5 percent, that number could vary vastly depending upon the type of coverage an employee has and whether the employee is categorized as a certified teacher or support staff.
For instance, certified teachers carrying Plan ‘A’ for a single person are required to pay only 5 percent due to their contract, which could change when their two-year contract expires at the close of this school year.
“We’ll just have to go back to the collective bargaining table and see what happens,” said DeRome.
However, three years ago, the board voted to freeze the school corporation contribution at a certain dollar amount for all support staff, but offered several plans from which employees could choose.
Under the new changes, a member of support staff holding Plan ‘A’ for a single employee could pay as much as 73 percent more for insurance in 2006-2007 than in 2005-2006.
“Do I expect people to be happy? No,” said DeRome. “I wish it was different, but my hands are tied.”
DeRome went on to explain that employees tend to like Plan ‘A’ because it has lower deductibles, but that employees will have the opportunity to modify their plan.
“I anticipate you having a lot of employees who are going to have to make some tough decisions if they want to stay in Plan ‘A,’ said DeRome.
Though board members voted to approve the plan, it was a reluctant decision for some.
“This is something I think the board takes very seriously, and I don’t think anyone at the table is comfortable with it,” said board member Bryan Alexander. “But there’s no possible way to do anything else now.”
DeRome also pointed out that money the school board uses to pay insurance premiums comes from the same fund as teacher salary and other expenses, meaning that even if the school corporation were able to pay for insurance, other areas could suffer.
In related business, DeRome presented the financial statement for April, which showed that medical claims for the month totaled $337,000, which is $106,000 less than in March. It is a welcome decrease after three months of well above-average claims.
Year to date medical claims now total $1,668,000, which DeRome said is on pace to total $5 million for the year; $323,000 higher than in 2005.
The board also briefly discussed the Capital Projects Plan for 2007.
Though no decisions were made on which projects to pursue, teachers and administrators at all Jay County schools submitted a list of building wants and needs, ranging from new classroom clocks at Bloomfield Elementary School to the pending roof replacement at West Jay Middle School.
About $3 million worth of repairs pertaining mostly to health and safety were highlighted.
“That’s pretty consistent with what we think we’ll be able to spend,” said DeRome.
DeRome added that the list was sort of a “rough draft” and that a more complete and accurate list would be available in late June or early July for board action.
In other business, the board:
• Granted DeRome permission to issue a purchase order in the amount of $33,953.50 to Bell Industries, for a Microsoft license agreement for 1,246 school corporation computers.
School corporation policy requires board approval for purchase orders greater than $25,000.
• Approved school lunch prices for the 2006-2007 school year.
All lunch prices will reflect a 5-cent increase next year, except reduced price breakfast and lunches, which are priced by the USDA and will remain the same.
• Approved Latch Key prices for the 2006-2007 school year. All rates, including those for students on free or reduced-price lunches will increase by 25 cents per hour.
• Approved preschool fees for the 2006-2007 school year.
In the past, there has been no price differentiation between two- and three-day programs, but now students registered to attend three days a week will pay $35 instead $25, which will be the fee for students registered to attend two days per week.
• Approved substitute teacher and bus driver pay to remain at $60 per day.
• Approved after-school tutoring and detention rates of pay.
Rates will remain the same with the exception of after school detention at West Jay Middle School.
The rate has been lower there because detention at West Jay is shorter. Superintendent Barbara Downing said that historically, the board has given principals the right to set their own disciplinary measures, but noted that the policy has been in effect so long that West Jay principal Michael Crull and East Jay principal Lee Newman are likely unaware of the discrepancy.
Downing said it would be brought to their attention and resubmitted for board approval at a later meeting.
• Approved revisions to the School Improvement Plans of all ten Jay schools.
State law requires all schools to review its improvement policy yearly and submit it for board approval.
Revisions this year were minor as the complete plans were written only one year ago.
• Approved receipt of several donations, including $500 from the Westlawn PTO for a new air conditioner for the Westlawn Elementary nurses station; $150 from the American Legion Post #211, $100 from the Loyal Order of Moose, $60 from Moser Engineering, $50 from F.O.E. #928, and $30 from Tri Kappa Sorority for the first grade reading program at General Shanks; $1,000 for the Redkey Elementary PTO for a new kiln and $1,500, also from the Redkey PTO, for the leveled reading library.
• Voted to permit the Portland Alumni Association to use the original stone headers that were above the front doors of the old Portland High School to erect a monument on the property of East Jay Middle School, the former site of Portland High School.
The Alumni Association will provide the funds to place the stone headers, currently stored in the old bus barn at East Jay. The monument will stand approximately 36 inches tall, 24 inches deep and 164 inches long. A plaque containing information about Portland High School will be placed with the sign.
• Approved acceptance of a 2006 LSTA Technology Grant in the amount of $3,095 from the Indiana State Library Advisory Council.
The grant has been approved to purchase Tablet PCs for up to $1,500 and one SmartBoard for up to $1,595.
The grant was applied for by Cathi A. Godfrey, project director at Jay County High School.
• Approved for adoption textbooks recommended by the textbook committees and their rental fees.
Books for Jay Schools are selected on a five-year rotating basis. This year, art and music texts were selected for the elementary schools and the middle and high schools got new music, art and career technical books.
Trent Paxson, Judge Haynes Elementary principal head the textbook adoption committee at the elementary level and Lee Newman, principal at East Jay Middle School, headed the committee at the middle and high school levels.
• Approved the first reading of the Wellness Policy as presented by the Wellness Policy Committee, comprised of teachers, parents, administrators and board members.
Federal law requires that all schools have a wellness policy in place by the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year.
The policy sets goals concerning nutrition, physical activity and education surrounding these two areas.
• Accepted the resignations and retirements of several employees, including the retirements of Mike Rathbun, Industrial Technology teacher at JCHS, Cindy VanSkyock, food service secretary at JCHS, Judy Mitchel, instructional assistant at Westlawn Elementary school and Kay Hough, bus driver.
• Scheduled a special public meeting to be held on July 5 at noon for the legal purpose of an organizational meeting.[[In-content Ad]]An issue that has recently been the topic of athletic debate at Jay County High School was laid to rest Monday — at least until next year — when the Jay School Board adopted student handbooks for the elementary, middle and high schools.
The board chose not to change a policy that allows coaches to decide whether or not students may participate in two Indiana High School Athletic Association sports during the same season.
While the IHSAA does not prohibit students from participating in multiple sports, a recent survey of Jay County coaches indicates that some, though not most, forbid the practice.
“A lot of this has to do with the philosophy of the coach,” said JCHS principal Dr. Wood Barwick, who presented the proposed handbook to the board. He went on to add that coaches are charged with helping a student reach his or her full athletic potential, and in some cases that may mean requiring them to focus only on one sport at a time.
In addition, Barwick pointed out that a student’s athletic performance reflects on a coach’s abilities.
“They get evaluated on that,” said Barwick.
The student handbook currently states that due to the time and energy required to participate in athletics and the necessity of maintaining high academic standards, students may only participate in one IHSAA sport per season.
However, if a student is determined to play multiple sports in the same season, a meeting must be held with the athlete, his or her parents, the head coaches of both sports and the athletic director. The meeting is designed to determine the feasibility of attending events for both sports and the overall welfare of the athlete and coaching staff. The athletic director holds the authority to make the final decision.
Though the board voted unanimously to keep the current policy in place, it was not without hesitation for some.
“I don’t think we change it, but we need to watch it,” said board member Greg Wellman. “We walk a fine line in allowing the coach to control the kid’s life.”
There were, however, changes approved that make the athletic disciplinary policy more strict.
Currently, any student found to be in possession of or using controlled substances, including abusing over the counter medication, or stealing, on or off school grounds, would have the option of choosing between suspension from athletics, including practice, for 25 percent of the season, or setting up an evaluation appointment and attending counseling at an approved organization.
Upon a second offense, the student would be forced to sit out 50 percent of the season as well as undergo counseling. A third offense meant suspension from athletics for a full year and counseling before being able to return to a sport the following season.
“We’re not sending a hard enough message,” said board president Doug Inman. “With ‘or’ it’s just a slap on the wrist.”
Under changes adopted Monday, students who have committed their first offense will not have the option of choosing between athletic suspension and counseling, but will undergo both. Furthermore, the student will have to “satisfactorily” complete a treatment program deemed necessary at their initial evaluation.
Board member Mike Shannon felt a greater emphasis should be placed on the student receiving treatment for any substance abuse problem they may have.
“Sending a kid to one counseling session is like telling them to go stand in the corner,” he said.
However, students will be allowed to continue practicing their sport while they complete treatment.
“Now that I’m looking at it, it should have been ‘and’ a long time ago,” said Barwick. “We knew this wasn’t exactly the policy we needed, but we hadn’t really had an in-depth discussion about it until now. But that’s why you bring it to the board.”
On second and third offenses, a student will be required to complete a treatment program as well as punishments previously in effect.
The middle school handbook was subsequently amended to reflect changes made to the high school handbook.
Other handbook changes include updating the language stating the dress code for elementary students to make it consistent with the middle school policy, and broadening the definition of electronics prohibited by students on school grounds at both the elementary and middle school levels.
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