Warren Woods School District Pays Nearly Double the Private-Sector Average for Health Insurance

Warren Woods

Teachers in Warren Woods Public Schools agreed to a new two-year contract that retains health insurance coverage costing taxpayers $20,460 for a family plan, and which is provided by the union's MESSA subsidiary. For comparison, the private-sector average cost for employer-provided health benefits in Michigan is $10,341 for a family plan.

The new contract also gives 0.5 percent pay raises to teachers at the top of the pay scale. Under the previous contract, these teachers were making between $68,367 and $87,729. All other teachers will still receive raises through the automatic “step” and “lane” increases built into the single salary schedule. These are based on experience and education credits accumulated and range from 2.5 to 4.5 percent for an extra year of experience to 16 percent for obtaining a master’s degree.

For the first time ever, teachers will have to cover a small deductible on claims from that generous health plan, but the district will reimburse them $200 to offset it, and these employees will still contribute nothing to the cost of their own premiums. More information is available here.

Galesburg-Augusta

A new two-year deal will give all teachers a 1 percent increase to their base salary in the first year plus an additional bonus of 0.5 percent of their salary. In the second year of the contract, teachers with more than 15 years on the job will grow their base salaries by 0.37 percent, and all teachers will get a bonus equivalent to 2 percent of their salary.

On the health insurance side, the district will continue to use a MESSA insurance plan that includes no deductibles. Under the previous contract, the district agreed to pay $16,312 per teacher for this plan — 58 percent more than the statewide private-sector average for a family plan premium — and teachers pick up the rest of the costs for the premiums. Besides moving from a $5/$10 to a $10/$20 prescription co-pay plan, there appears to be no other significant changes to the health insurance policy. Teachers will still be paid between $700 and $1,000 for electing not to enroll in the district health plan.

More information can be found here.

Saugatuck

As reported earlier, Saugatuck Public Schools agreed to a new two-year deal with its teachers union. The district will now supply teachers with health insurance through Priority Health and not the Michigan Education Special Services Association, an arm of the state’s largest teachers union. The insurance switch is estimated to save the district $3,800 per teacher. Under the last contract teachers paid $35 per month for their health insurance premium and were paid $2,500 if they chose not to enroll in the district’s plan.

On the salary side of things, teachers will receive an across-the-board increase of 2.75 percent this year and another 2.25 percent increase next year. These pay increases come on top of the built-in “step” and “lane” increases (which are based on years on the job and education degrees) that teachers receive under the district’s single salary schedule.

More information is available here and here.