Jay Schools looking at joining trust

Jay School Corporation is continuing to explore its insurance options.

Business manager Shannon Current and consultant Nick Napier of Brown and Brown provided additional information to the school board Monday regarding the possibility of joining an insurance trust.

The school corporation’s insurance committee, which includes board members, administrators and staff, met Aug. 9 to gather more information about insurance trusts. They discussed topics including the overall plan, plan year, deductibles, eye/dental insurance, clinics and other details.

The possibility of joining a trust has been brought up for several years and is now being pursued in earnest after the board last month approved a new health insurance plan with PHP with a 9.3% increase in costs. In order to achieve those rates, the school corporation had to accept increases in deductibles and other changes.

The school corporation faced an initial renewal proposal from IU Health, which had provided insurance for the last two years, at an increase of 49%. (The increases came because the school corporation has had high claims activity, specifically from five employees with chronic diseases and several more with cancer.)

The benefit of joining an insurance trust — they are groups of schools who partner together on insurance — is that they spread the risk across a larger pool of employees, thus minimizing the chance for significant fluctuations like Jay Schools experienced this year.

Plans call for Current to survey school employees about the possibility of joining a trust. The insurance committee is then expected to have a recommendation at the board’s Sept. 16 meeting. 

If the school board decides to pursue joining a trust, the corporation would apply to both the East Central Trust and North Central Trust. If accepted, they would join one and employees would be enrolled by Thanksgiving in advance of a Jan. 1 start date in the new insurance.

Answering a question from board member Phil Ford, Napier said that once a school corporation joins a trust it can not be removed because of high claims activity.

Gulley noted that state data shows about 55% of school corporations in Indiana are involved in trusts for insurance purposes while just 9% are fully insured like Jay School Corporation.

Also Monday, the board held its public hearing on its 2025 budget. There were no comments from the public.

The 2025 budget is advertised at $41,487,028, up from this year’s $40,606,910. (It is a 2.2% increase.)

The budget includes $23.5 million in the education fund, $11.6 million in the operation fund, $5.6 million in the debt service fund, $44,475 in the pension debt service fund and $300,000 in the rainy day fund. (The pension debt will be paid off early in 2025.)

In other business, board members Ron Laux, Phil Ford, Donna Geesaman, Jason Phillips, Vickie Reitz, Chip Phillips and Marcie Vormohr:

•Learned from Gulley that the new Jay County Early Learning Center operated by Westminster Preschool that is planned to open next month is interested in partnering with Jay School Corporation on food service. Chartwells, the school corporation’s food service provider, would provide food for the early learning center as is allowed through the United States Department of Agriculture’s School Lunch Program. He told the board to be prepared for a vote on the proposal at a future meeting.

•Approved the following: the hiring of junior high English teacher Kimberly Andrews, junior high computer science teacher Matt Goldsworthy and Latchkey instruction assistant (East Elementary) Hilary Cox; extracurricular assignments including Darian Jones as junior high honor society sponsor and Lauren Day as distributive ed club sponsor; a field trip in May for the high school band and guard; and a leave of absence for West Jay fifth grade teacher Ashlyn Lahey.

•Accepted a $2,433.02 Digital Learning Coach Grant. Director of e-learning Katie Clark will use the funds to attend a national conference on artificial intelligence and blended learning in January. 

•Heard Ford ask assistant superintendent Trent Paxson for an analysis of updated graduation requirements once they are finalized by the State Board of Education.

•Accepted the resignations of East Elementary Lifeskills teacher Lauren Hemmelgarn and bus driver Anthony Bright. Also accepted the resignation of Cody Linville as high school FFA advisor.

•Accepted a donation of 500 pairs of Crocs to East Jay Elementary School. Principal Erica Tomano had applied for the donation of the footwear.