Columbus City Schools (CCS) and the teachers' union are in a dispute over health insurance plans that may result in much higher costs for teachers.
Teachers are not only facing increased costs under new insurance plans, but also a costly surcharge if the district and union can't come to an agreement. An end-of-the-day deadline Wednesday, following a 9 a.m. meeting of the union and district's Joint Insurance Committee, means teachers could face these extra fees starting as soon as January.
The union is escalating actions against the district. This began Tuesday night with union members and the statewide Ohio Education Association calling on the Franklin County Democratic Party to pressure the school board members on the topic. Both the Columbus Education Association (CEA) and the party have endorsed board members.
"CEA members are willing to pay their fair share. CEA members should not have to pay for the district's incompetence," OEA President Jeff Wensing said.
Wensing was referring to a report by the district that found its insurance plan was underfunded by more than $20 million. CCS attributed that to reporting by consulting company Aon-Hewitt to help determine the amounts the district and employees would need to pay into the fund.
Wensing and other union leaders warn this could have long term impacts on recruitment and retention of teachers. Meanwhile, CCS is already strapped for cash, finding itself having to make $50 million in budget cuts for the second year in a row in order to prevent a budget deficit.
The district has denied the underfunded insurance plan is what is leading to higher costs, instead citing general rising health insurance costs nationally.
Michael Brown, a spokesperson for the district, confirmed Wednesday in a statement that the CEA voted not to make changes to the insurance plan, which he claimed under the collective bargaining agreement requires a large increase in charges CEA employees pay.
"For six months Columbus City Schools tried to work with CEA to ensure quality health insurance for its members, just as we did successfully with our other labor partners. CCS subsidizes 85% of health insurance costs for CEA members," Brown said.
Brown said since the CEA voted to not to accept the district's plans, the terms of their collective bargaining agreement requires a large increase in charges paid by CEA employees. He said the district proposed options to prevent the surcharges, but didn't specify the exact terms.
"We are disappointed that CEA is not addressing the reality that health insurance and health care costs and usage are increasing for everyone nationally, but we remain open to future discussions," Brown said.
Brown pointed out the other major union in the district, the Columbus School Employees Association, already finalized its healthcare insurance with the district.
Before the Franklin County Democrats meeting Tuesday — which Wensing said was appropriately in a union hall for the United Food and Commercial Workers — CEA President John Coneglio said he believes this does trace back to the district underfunding the health insurance plan by $20 million, despite the district saying otherwise.
"We're not going to pay for the district's screw up and their mismanagement of our healthcare," he said.
Coneglio and the union have several demands for CCS. This includes delaying the start of open enrollment starting Oct. 5, starting litigation proceedings against the consulting company Aon and getting an analysis from CVS Caremark about the financial impact of restricting or eliminating GLP-1 coverages for weight loss and rebates.
"We want answers, right? This is our healthcare," Coneglio said.
Documents provided by the district say premiums would increase between 19% and 25%, but a deal put forth by the district would limit increases to benefits costs by 8%.
Since the committee didn't approve anything, district employees could pay 100% for everything above 8% as an employee surcharge.
Coneglio put the total cost of insurance for some teachers at half a paycheck in some cases. Coneglio said that cost burden could get even worse if surcharges are assessed.
"We have the potential for a lot of our members to have almost double or have almost a full paycheck being used for healthcare," Coneglio said. "This burden will fall on our young teachers, teachers with families and this will not help to attract and retain people."
Both said the choice for the union is either that option or accepting a plan that provides fewer benefits while the district massively charges its employees.
Coneglio did acknowledge before the Joint Insurance Committee meeting that the ball is in the union's court.
Brown clarified to WOSU that the district can still make changes if a deal is reached.
The union is planning several more events to pressure the district over the next week.
