Lawrence school board members on Monday will consider a change to save the district money on rising health insurance costs, though employees would have to pay to keep their current level of coverage.
“The fully-insured medical premiums initially renewed at 32% – in order to contain costs, administration and the district’s insurance brokerage team reviewed self-funded options, and are recommending the district switch funding methods for medical insurance from fully-insured to a self-funded model with stop loss,” according to the agenda.
District administrators are recommending a plan design change that will provide “employer-paid, employee-only coverage for all full-time employees at the same district cost,” the agenda item states.
“The current two plans, Core PPO and qualified high deductible health plan (QHDHP) will become buy-up plans for 2026-2027,” according to the agenda.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
“A new Core PPO plan will be offered as a $0 cost to full-time employees,” the agenda item continues. “Coverage and network will remain the same across all plans with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas – the new employer-paid core plan changes include an increase in the deductible and out-of-pocket maximum for the plan year (individual deductible increasing from $1500 to $3000, individual out of pocket maximum increasing from $5000 to $6500).”
It’s not clear from the agenda materials what the increased cost to employees would be if they choose to purchase one of the two current plans, but the monthly cost to the district for medical, dental and vision plans will increase to $834.03 from $832.81.
That item is part of the consent agenda, a list of items that are generally considered routine and approved with one motion unless a board member or the superintendent asks to pull something for discussion.
Also on the consent agenda are about $427,000 in roof repair projects at Billy Mills and West middle schools, and a $36,200 bid to repair a fire suppression waterline at Southwest Middle School.
The board will also hear the annual needs assessment, which “captures direct feedback from building leaders across Lawrence Public Schools and is intended to inform both the Board’s priorities and future budget decisions,” according to the agenda. It’s required by state law (K.S.A. 72-1163). The report was not attached to the agenda as of 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
This meeting is set to be the 10th in a row without general public comment on the agenda. The board hasn’t heard public comment since Nov. 17.
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Monday, May 11 with two executive sessions, set for 90 minutes total. The board will likely begin the remainder of the agenda at or after 7:30 p.m.
The school board meets at district offices, 110 McDonald Drive. Meetings are open to the public, livestreamed on the district’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/@USD497, and broadcast on Midco channel 26.
See the full meeting agenda at this link. See ways to contact the school board at lawrencekstimes.com/contact-usd497bd.
If local news matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat — get the latest news from the Times delivered to your inbox:
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
This post is by the Lawrence Times news team.
If you have news tips, questions, comments, concerns, compliments or corrections for our team, please reach out and let us know what’s on your mind. Email us at [email protected] (don’t forget the KS!), or find more contact info and a quick contact form at LawrenceKSTimes.com/contact.
Follow us so you won’t miss the local news that matters most to you:
Latest Lawrence news:
Jacob Rice / Lawrence Times
