INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The Indian River County School Board and Schools Superintendent Dr. Fran Adams faced questions and concerns about health insurance costs from members of the union consisting of bus drivers, janitors, cafeteria workers and other support personnel, during their first meeting of the new school year.
Two dozen employees with this problem came to the meeting — most of them in the red shirts of their union, the Communications Workers of America — to applaud a bus driver who pleaded on their behalf with the superintendent and school board members to lower their health insurance rates.
Bus driver Caroline Anderson spoke for them, telling the superintendent and board that the basic cost of health insurance for school support staff was $100 twice a month, plus $40 for every visit to a primary physician – this, on salaries, usually well below $30,000 a year.
Many people are paying $600 a month to provide health insurance to their families, she said.
This choking financial burden for health insurance is not unusual, according to other support staff members in the audience, who said that a third of their income is being eaten up on health insurance for their families.
Which raises the question: If the school board and superintendent are committed to improving the lives of students and their families with the goal of creating an optimum learning environment, how can they ignore the miserable burden these high medical insurance monthly fees are placing on their own — the school support staff members and their children?
“We need to see doctors and can’t afford it,” said Anderson. “Can you do something? Will you do something?”
At the end of the meeting, Superintendent Dr. Adams answered Anderson.
“We’re negotiating this. We’re trying to do something,” she said.
That plan, if it goes through, will probably mean that support staff will have health insurance rates lowered to what teachers pay, which is a better deal than they now have.
“Not great, but better,” said one cafeteria worker.
In other School Board action:
- The School Board approved virtual online classes to give middle school and high school students alternative choices for how they learn.
- A newly published family resource guide was announced during the meeting to help parents and students locate helpful community resources.
- A Head Start program was approved at Highlands Elementary School.
- More nutritional lunches were approved for students at Indian River Charter High School.
- And, the student drop-off and pickup traffic jams at Beachland Elementary were described as finally smoothing out, according to Superintendent Dr. Adams.
