Administrators
pay 10 percent of insurance premiums YOUNGSTOWN -- City school district
administrators are now paying 10 percent of their hospitalization and drug prescription
insurance premiums.
The change will save the school district about $83,000
a year.
The administrators and other nonunion staff were asked to begin
paying part of their insurance premiums as a way to help reduce district spending.
There are about 30 employees in that latter group, and they will begin
paying 10 percent of their hospitalization and prescription insurance Oct. 1,
saving the district an additional $40,000 per year.
Youngstown is under
state fiscal watch because of a $2 million budget deficit in the fiscal year ended
June 30 and a projected $8 million deficit this year.
Dr. Wendy Webb, superintendent,
said the administrative staff knew the request that they pick up part of their
insurance cost was coming.
Dental and vision coverage will remain 100 percent
paid by the district.
About 60 administrators on the family plan for prescription
and health care coverage will be paying $107 a month while those on the single
plan will pay about $43 a month.
A total of about 77 administrators are
affected.
Before now, Webb was the only district employee contributing
to her health care, picking up 5 percent of the premium as a term of her employment.
The board of education had suggested that administrators step forward and
agree to share in their insurance costs to show the public that the district and
its employees are making efforts to control spending.
The board has voted
to ask city taxpayers to approve a five-year, 9.5-mill levy to erase the red ink,
and board members have said they have to show internal cost-saving measures have
been taken.
Treasurer Carolyn Funk said the same 10 percent cost-sharing
proposal will be presented to all unionized district employees, including teachers,
in new contract negotiations this school year.
She has estimated that the
district would save about $1.2 million a year in insurance costs if every one
of the district's approximately 1,500 employees picked up 10 percent of their
hospitalization and prescription insurance premiums.
The teachers and members
of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union all
accepted one-year contracts that froze base wages for this year, although those
working their way up the steps of a contract salary schedule will still get those
step increases.
About half of the employees still got some pay increase,
Funk said.
Likewise, administrators agreed to a freeze on base salaries
for this year, although those moving up through experience steps will still get
step increases. Administrators who changed positions or added to the number of
days they work received raises, Funk said.
About half of the 77 saw no
wage increase, she said.
The administration has already proposed $35 million
in spending cuts and job reductions that will occur over five years as the district
closes some of its older buildings.
