Paulding Schools Insurance Hike Looming

employees can expect to see a jump in their health insurance premiums next year.

That’s due to a rate increase in the state health insurance benefit plan and the school system cutting the $56.92 it pays toward employee premiums. Single employees will see the highest percentage increase with jumps ranging from 112 percent to 768 percent. Single employees with the Wellness United Healthcare HMO plan will see their monthly rates increase from $65.64 to $139.38 while those with the Wellness United Healthcare high deductible plan will see their monthly rates jump from $9.62 to $83.54.

Employees with family coverage will see rate increases ranging from 56 percent to 86 percent. For example, employees with the Wellness United Healthcare HMO will see monthly rates increase from $259.94 to $413.86 while those with the Wellness United Healthcare high deductible plan will see their monthly rates jump from $177.50 to $331.48.

“We’ll probably hear a lot about this from our employees,” said Burton Turner, supervisor of employee services, while briefing the Board of Education on the increases on Tuesday morning.

While specifics on plan changes won’t be released from the state until Sept. 28, Superintendent Cliff Cole said he expects the same kind of “negative information.” Open enrollment is Oct. 9-Nov. 9.

Board member Joe Watson asked if school system officials could put the new rate sheet on the system’s website.

“We pride ourselves on giving our employees a lot of lead time on changes,” he said.

Also at its Tuesday meeting, the board approved several policy revisions, including one to the grading systems policy that would strike grade scales from the policy and put them into a regulation, a move that board chairman Michael Skelton opposed, saying that regulation changes don’t require board approval.

“I’d like to see that grading system back in this policy,” Skelton said.

Although Cole brings all regulation changes before the board, there isn’t a guarantee that future superintendents would do so, Skelton said.

“That’s where my reservation is,” he said.

Skelton’s motion to put the grading system back into the policy died for lack of a second, and the board voted 6-1 to approve the recommended change.

In other business, the board:

• Approved a revision to Board Policy BDC regarding policy adoption;
• Approved a revision to Board Policy BCBK regarding executive sessions;
• Approved a revision to Board Policy GAAA regarding equal opportunity employment;
• Approved a revision to Board Policy GAE (1) regarding discrimination complaints;
• Approved a revision to Board Policy GCRG regarding classified personnel leaves and absences;
• And rescinded nine policies related to paraprofessionals that officials said are carbon copies of the school system’s classified employee policies.

Learn more about these policies in this article that previewed today’s meeting.