By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

RESERVE – Employees of the St. John the Baptist Parish Public School District will face a reduction in health insurance benefits following approval of a new plan by the school board at a special meeting Wednesday.

Blue Cross, the district’s health insurance provider, originally proposed a plan that would keep coverage the same but raise the premium by 15 percent. That plan would have cost the district an additional $1.2 million, according to Executive Director of Business and Finance Felix Boughton.

Instead, the Insurance Committee reconvened on the issue Tuesday after failing to make a recommendation in time for last week’s school board meeting and chose a plan that would only raise costs by about 10 percent while also raising deductibles and lowering benefits nearly across the board. For example, for an individual health plan, the annual deductible will now be $1,500 instead of $1,000.

Despite the decreased cost, Boughton continued to paint a less-than-rosy picture about the district’s finances.

“Can we afford it?” asked board member Russ Wise.

Boughton replied: “No. This is an Insurance Committee recommendation, not a personal recommendation. Don’t kid yourself. We’re going to pay for this through budget cuts.”

Iona Holloway, a member of the Insurance Committee as well as the local teachers’ union, defended the decision, saying, “This committee struggled (with the decision). We took the plan that was more advantageous to the employees. It kept the meds at the same rate.”

The board also approved the renewal of employee life insurance Wednesday, but that rate was unchanged since last year.

Lastly, the board approved a resolution confirming the redrawn school board election districts. The districts had to be redrawn in light of the 2010 U.S. Census.

The new plan keeps the 11-district formation but has slightly shifted some areas to not only keep district populations roughly the same but to also make sure the districts are in line with the Department of Justice’s desegregation order for the parish. The ideal district population was set at 4,175, and the range in populations in districts under the proposed plan is 3,981 to 4,364.

The plan must now be sent to the Department of Justice for approval.