Post updated at 9:25 p.m. Monday, May 11:
Lawrence school board members on Monday approved a change to health insurance plans that will keep costs about the same for the school district but increase costs for employees who wish to keep their current coverage.
The health coverage change was on the board’s 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 an item for discussion.
It was not clear from the agenda materials what the increased cost to employees will be if they choose to purchase one of the two current plans. There was no discussion of the health plans.
“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.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
District administrators recommended 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.
“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).”
The monthly cost to the district for medical, dental and vision plans will increase to $834.03 from $832.81.
The school district and the Lawrence Education Association last week came to agreements on contracts with certified and classified staff members that include raises and benefit changes. Board member Kelly Jones said the LEA is taking the contracts back to the bargaining units for ratification.
• Contract nonrenewal: The board also voted not to renew the contract of Lawrence High School teacher Michael Evans. The board discussed the contract during an executive session, or closed-door meeting, earlier in the evening, then approved the nonrenewal as part of new business.
The board voted 5-0 not to renew Evans’ contract. They did not discuss the nonrenewal in the public portion of the meeting, but a resolution added to the agenda after the board had already voted states that the reason was “unprofessional conduct.”
Jones recused herself from the executive session as well as the vote, and board member Shannon Kimball was not in attendance.
• Repairs: The board approved 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.
• No public comment: This meeting was the 10th in a row without general public comment. The board hasn’t heard public comment since Nov. 17.
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
Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at [email protected]. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
Latest Lawrence news:
Jacob Rice / Lawrence Times
