Pickerington should examine costs of teachers' health benefits
Regardless of whether the Pickerington school district's 5-mill levy passes or fails, the school board should stop threatening to punish the students and residents of the district by cutting academic programs or transportation, and instead look into opening the teachers' union contract and requiring the teachers to pay more for their own health care.
Right now teachers pay a pittance towards their own health insurance. While we taxpayers are getting crunched with annually increasing health care costs for our own families, we are also getting crunched with annually increasing health care costs for the teachers, administrators and their families.
I mean, come on, teachers are paying $15/$75 premiums, $25 deductibles, $10 co-pays and $500/$1,000 maximum out-of-pocket for an individual/family for in-network care. My family was paying that paltry amount for health care 10 years ago. We pay much, much more now, and continue to pay more each year.
This year, for example, my husband and I are paying greater than $200/month in premiums, $250/person deductible, $30 physician co-pays, $45 specialist co-pays and $8,000 maximum out-of pocket for an family coverage. And that's all for in-network care. We are literally paying thousands more per year for our health care than are the teachers and administrators.
Are the teachers more important (or entitled) than the individuals and families who make up the community?
In fiscal year 2006 the district paid $6 million for health insurance. The board approved a health insurance contract renewal in April of this year with a 10 percent increase in costs. Guess who's paying for the increase!
Superintendent Dr. Karen Mantia gave a presentation to the board on Oct. 12 and stated that 81 percent of the district's approximately $80 million budget goes to personnel. She justified this as being ''industry standard.'' Why isn't 81 percent of the budget going to textbooks or technology for the students? Wouldn't that be a more appropriate ''industry standard?''
Being educators, I would hope the teachers understand what a great deal they've had and don't expect to be able to keep it forever. Unions across America are slowly realizing they have to start conceding on this issue. It's simple arithmetic.
But until board members start understanding they are negotiating with taxpayers' money, which doesn't belong to them but to the public, we taxpayers will continue to subsidize teachers' health care to the tune of more and more ''instructional'' levies.
Some board members keep talking about what great business people they are. Well, then, show us. Businesses all across America are passing health care costs onto employees.
I'll even go out on a limb and say that if board members were operating the district as if it were their own business, they would have already passed the escalating health care costs onto district employees.
Just as Mantia stated at the Oct. 12 board meeting, she can't fix school funding, I can't fix the health care system. I just can't. But like all businesses, the school district needs to learn to survive in the current economic climate.
Let's see the board members act like responsible business people as well as responsible public servants deserving of the public's trust.
Katelyn Sattler
Pickerington
By SE Messenger letter
Regardless of whether the Pickerington school district's 5-mill levy passes or fails, the school board should stop threatening to punish the students and residents of the district by cutting academic programs or transportation, and instead look into opening the teachers' union contract and requiring the teachers to pay more for their own health care.
Right now teachers pay a pittance towards their own health insurance. While we taxpayers are getting crunched with annually increasing health care costs for our own families, we are also getting crunched with annually increasing health care costs for the teachers, administrators and their families.
I mean, come on, teachers are paying $15/$75 premiums, $25 deductibles, $10 co-pays and $500/$1,000 maximum out-of-pocket for an individual/family for in-network care. My family was paying that paltry amount for health care 10 years ago. We pay much, much more now, and continue to pay more each year.
This year, for example, my husband and I are paying greater than $200/month in premiums, $250/person deductible, $30 physician co-pays, $45 specialist co-pays and $8,000 maximum out-of pocket for an family coverage. And that's all for in-network care. We are literally paying thousands more per year for our health care than are the teachers and administrators.
Are the teachers more important (or entitled) than the individuals and families who make up the community?
In fiscal year 2006 the district paid $6 million for health insurance. The board approved a health insurance contract renewal in April of this year with a 10 percent increase in costs. Guess who's paying for the increase!
Superintendent Dr. Karen Mantia gave a presentation to the board on Oct. 12 and stated that 81 percent of the district's approximately $80 million budget goes to personnel. She justified this as being ''industry standard.'' Why isn't 81 percent of the budget going to textbooks or technology for the students? Wouldn't that be a more appropriate ''industry standard?''
Being educators, I would hope the teachers understand what a great deal they've had and don't expect to be able to keep it forever. Unions across America are slowly realizing they have to start conceding on this issue. It's simple arithmetic.
But until board members start understanding they are negotiating with taxpayers' money, which doesn't belong to them but to the public, we taxpayers will continue to subsidize teachers' health care to the tune of more and more ''instructional'' levies.
Some board members keep talking about what great business people they are. Well, then, show us. Businesses all across America are passing health care costs onto employees.
I'll even go out on a limb and say that if board members were operating the district as if it were their own business, they would have already passed the escalating health care costs onto district employees.
Just as Mantia stated at the Oct. 12 board meeting, she can't fix school funding, I can't fix the health care system. I just can't. But like all businesses, the school district needs to learn to survive in the current economic climate.
Let's see the board members act like responsible business people as well as responsible public servants deserving of the public's trust.
Katelyn Sattler
Pickerington
By SE Messenger letter
