001ped to let everyone know the meeting started just so you know. >> All right, it's all >> so good evening and welcome to the board of education scheduled meeting of the finance committee at the board of education office at 382 Longill in the first floor boardroom. Today is Wednesday, December 18th, 2025 and the time it's 6:00 p.m. Hey, please get a roll call. >> Rich O' Conor >> here. >> Barl Penazo >> here. Patricia Munan >> here. Marine Rosen >> here. Also in attendance, Dr. Ken Serinich, Jacqueline Tulings, John Calhoun, Tracy Hussy, Tristan Santilly, Kate Coutach, Anthony Spiragino, Jason Nevs, and Joey Pledge. >> Next, can we all please rise for the pledge of allegiance? I pledge to the flag of the United States of America to the republic for which it stands. One nation
002under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> The next agenda item is the re review and approval of the following reports to the committee. May I please seek approval of the finance meeting minutes for November 11, 2025? >> I'll I'll make a motion. I'll second. >> All in favor? >> I I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. >> Moving on to the public comment. Is there anyone here in the public that would like to make a public comment to the finance committee? Anyone willing to make a public comment to the finance committee? >> Any public comments? Seeing none, we'll move along to the agenda items. The finance report. Over to you, Jackie. >> Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Here to present the financial report for the five men months of expenditures for the 2026
003fiscal year for the period ending November 30th, 2025. The total certified staff shows a year-to-ate expenditure of 13.6 million. Total non-certified staff shows a year-to-ate expenditure of 4.56 million. Employee benefits. Healthc care insurance reflects a year-to-ate expenditure of 5.6 million representing 68.7% of the budget expended and 31.3% remaining. Based on discussions and the data provided by Joe Pinto of IMA, he's our plan administrator, claims activity was higher than normal at the start of the fiscal year, which contributed to elevated expenditure levels, which we saw on the report at the last meeting in November. The district is currently awaiting rebates and credits totaling 1,87,044 consisting of $855,000 in stop-loss credits and $232,000 in prescription credits. IMA projects the district's annualized health insurance cost to be 10,146,811 when combined with 1,377,792 for the custodial union insurance. The
004total projected annualized health insurance costs for the district will be around 11,524,63 and this is inclusive of the anticipated rebate credit. Total professional services shows a year-to-ate expenditure of 1.25 million. Professional services sped account 5336 displays a deficit due to students requiring significant behavioral support. Total tuition. The overall total tuition is showing a year-to-ate expenditure of approximately 5.7 million and an unfavorable variance of 1.5 million. Excess grant funding will be allocated to line 5561 tuition sped public and 5566 tuition fed private. Total year-to-ate expenditures 40,542,853. The BOE is displaying an overall favorable variance of approximately 40 million with 52 50.2% 2% of its budget expended and 49.8% remaining. Um, I have a comparative for November of 2024. The year-to-ate expenditures totaled 30 39 million with 48.8% of the budget expended and 51.2% remaining. Um, and
005last year the health insurance expenditure for this time was 4.79. Does anyone have any questions about the expenditures? Revenues are light, but I >> I have a question about the um the rebates and the credits for the health insurance. >> Yes. >> Where who's issuing those? >> So, those come from the carrier, but IMA puts them through. So, I'm hoping we should see them within the next four weeks. So, I'm hoping that they hit by the time we do. >> Thank you. >> And then I I have a question as well. So, clearly we're significantly over budget based on projections. Are we seeing that the claim costs are coming down as the months have progressed or have they been pretty consistent as you know the budget year had started? Well, they were higher in the
006beginning of the year and they seem to have tapered off, but you know, it all depends. Stop call stop loss claims really um affected, >> right? Are there significant kind of one-time costs like significant claims that >> built up in the beginning? >> So, I don't have that data. what they provided was from July 1 to October 31st and what our percentages are, what our rebates are. Um, you know, it varies like gross medical claims for the board of ed. So, I'm going to give you an example. Per July, our gross medical claims were almost 1.5 million. August it went down to 48,000. September 411 uh 413,000 and then October was almost 600. So, it's it's varying. So, Jackie, are we seeing an increase in catastrophic health care costs? Are we seeing an increase in
007pres prescription drug costs? Or are we seeing an increase in people going to the doctor more? I mean, the the the the um administrator should be able to give you a breakdown as to where we're seeing significant increases. At least that's how it used to be presented. It may not be presented that way currently, but they should be able to give you a a report showing where the increases are year after year. So, this is a new company. We just uh November 1. Yeah. So, we're just with them a year. Um they would have to get the information from Sigma transferred over. They may have that. Um, I can get that data, but what they're showing me, the majority of the costs are related to stoploss claims and the board of ed had the majority
008of the stop-loss claims. If >> I may just through the chair, um, Maz, it's a great question. We will research this and ask this, but to just just to follow up on what Jackie was saying, I know you you've been familiar in the past with some of these healthcare that you know the the company that used to serve us changed the city changed into imi and then when imi came on they instituted a new change in our healthcare provider. So there was a lot of changes that happened in the course of the year. So the reporting system is somewhat different but the information that you're requesting we of course could follow up and ask that. >> I just have one more question. What is our stop loss amount? It used to be 175,000. What is
009it now? >> So, you're talking about when when we don't pay anymore in we don't pay anything else. It's the insurance uh the the reinsurance um for lack of a better term kicks in. So, it used to be we paid up into 175,000. Is that ch has that changed? Um I'd have to get back to you on that. I have a couple numbers here. Um I just have the premium number. So So you're you're you're referencing stoploss. So when after So stop loss means we don't pay any longer. So if our increases in stop loss, has that amount increased? Like is it 200,000 now or is it still at 175 thou 175,000? I'd have I can find out back to you what is this >> a good question. >> Sure. Go ahead. >> Actually leadership
010has moved on. The letter went to the city letting them know where we stood with medical as we had discussed. >> Yes. >> Okay. So, I did also want to mention as far as the RX um when I when we had our meeting last week with IMA, they are potentially looking at a new carrier, same coverage. Um, and they're looking at a significant savings there. So, some point we will be switched over to a different RX plan. no change to any employees and their coverage but cost savings to the district. >> Have you notified the unions of that? >> Um I don't it didn't imple it's not implemented yet. So without any information really we can't at this point. Well that benefits are subject of bargaining. So you have to you have to inform the
011unions if you're going to change anything with insurance just to avoid getting yourself into any union difficulty. >> The plan hasn't once once they present the plan and write it with the RX. We will >> Yeah, we we follow that exact same procedure when the city changed it healthcare. We we will follow the same procedure we did last time. Um >> does anyone have any more questions regarding the expenditures? Revenue pay to participate revenue year-to- date collected $113,952 and event ticket sales through November 30th total $28,87. Does anybody else have any questions before we >> question >> before we move on? >> Seeing none, over to you, Ken, for superintendent's comments. >> So, I I just want to do a follow up on Jackie's report specifically relative to health insurance. You know, last time we
012met, you know, we were extremely concerned about the health insurance costs. We met with imi uh IMA. Um obviously the the numbers still are over projecting but it is not as catastrophic as we had thought it could have potentially been. That's a positive you know to like take things in the positive. Um one of the things that I I wish we had you know had we had the similar situation of last year of um the health reserved account we we would be you know fine. we would be in a really good good place you know but you know the city did not allocate money for a health reserve account so we will continue to monitor this and keep the city a breast of the situation we have with insurance is an uncontrollable that's what we
013have to do with it um the other thing that I just want to bring uh to the since we have a full complement of the board um I think it's appropriate to bring it up at the finance meeting is I I know I've expressed this to the board on several occasions um administration is working um as best as we can within the law because the state legislation has changed, but we are gravely concerned about the increasing costs in our lunch debit account. >> Um and this has to deal with um students, families who are who are who are not paying for their school meal. there there is really based on the state statute no recourse that we can do for those individuals who are not paying um that that cost falls on the board's shoulders
014to fund that cost and as of this past week and we are only December uh the cost is up to $32,000. So, um it is concerning because at this rate, um if that debt keeps averaging out monthtomonth by the end of the year, you'll look at the cost that we'll have to pay to cover uh unpaid um cafeteria debt will be the cost of a staff member. You know, that the only way that we would be able to rectify that. So, um it is a concerning school administration continues to call families. We continue want to work with families and help families qualify those who can get free or reduced lunch. um get families with needs services that they can. But this is not an issue about families who qualify um who are follow the process.
015This is about issues of families uh who are just not paying. So that's all I have to report. Thank you. All right. So I guess uh it's my turn. Uh so I'm a man I'm a man of very few words. Um I I like to keep things brief, but um I'm excited for the opportunity to chair this committee. Um I I come from a finance background. Uh so hopefully I can uh bring my expertise to the table and um you know make some good decisions and you know be very uh prudent when it comes to uh you know the money we have to deal with. So again, I'm looking forward to working with all of you. And that's pretty much all I have to say. So I will make a motion to adjourn the meeting.
016I'll make that motion. >> Thank you very much. >> I second. All right. >> Meeting adjourned.