001Good afternoon. We'll call to order the Tuesday, May 19th, 1 p.m. school board workshop. Please rise for a moment of silence followed by the pledge of allegiance and our national I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Heat up here. Heat up here. Thank you. You may be seated. Roll call, please. >> Shannon Ready, present. >> Will Furry present. Christy Chong, >> Lashak Kamura, >> and Mr. Ramirez uh could not be here today, but I believe she is trying to listen in. >> Yes, we'll move on to board member liaison updates. All right, so end of the year activities are humming along and uh testing assessment has gone relatively well here. Uh
002FPC, it's a small uh uh you know uh coordination of uh it's almost like um a special event in terms of just the coordination that has to go into how do you manage students when they're not testing to give students the ability to time to test and how do you manage the different types of tests. So, it's been a lot and their staff has been um working together really well and the students we appreciate have been um you know behaving themselves well when they're having to be in those uh waiting spaces waiting for their turn to test and assess. So, that's been great. Um Rimfire uh chatted with them. They've received some early uh results. So far things are looking pretty good. It looks however there's a potential anomaly in kindergarten which is not in
003line with the trajectory um that they were expecting. And I believe that they're working with Mr. Reynolds to identify um how uh students who were not there for the first assessment in kindergarten may have affected those numbers. So we'll see how that comes out. Uh this Thursday is the take stock in children dinner. Uh and that is a really um beneficial program for our students who really gain in in having a mentor and we have several community members, staff members who uh serve as mentors for those students over several years and we really appreciate them. and um it the the Ed Foundation does a wonderful job in in recognizing uh those folks for their time and commitment to those students. Um a couple of items regarding uh the FSBA legislative updates um that have come
004out there. As you know, the kind of uh budget pieces have moved forward and there's been a package that's been presented. And just some overall items to note regarding uh the decisions affecting uh schools and children's education in general. Um is that the funding the statewide summary shows a total education funding increase about 835 million or 2.85 85%. And you know, for us with household budgets, that seems insane and super generous, but um the total FTE increase was only 1.97%. And think about what inflation has been over the past year. So um essentially the rising costs of transportation, which are gas prices, has essentially doubled. um the utilities which in many cases has been 10 and 15% um staffing um uh and additional services for those students who need supports uh are quickly outpacing that
005number. Uh the base student allocation has increased by $50 from 5,372 to $5,422. um that doesn't keep pace with I mean much of anything. So that's pretty shocking number. Um so that's going to be a challenge and we'll see how we adapt as a school district. Um the safe schools and mental health allocations uh came in generally flat. Um however that doesn't mean we are to provide any less services. uh under those uh really important mental health and school safety uh not only statutes but the above and beyond pieces that we do here at the school district. Um, see, finally, I want to expand on an item that I mentioned briefly in the last schoolboard workshop, but I want to thank the superintendent, Mr. Marty Evans, um, our assistant superintendent, Dr. O'Brien for uh entertaining
006my request to visit Semino County Schools where they have a very deep and robust CTE program that is blended within their uh schools as opposed to a separate entity. uh that entire school district leverages magnet schools and those magnet schools each have a different theme but they're what they call verticals meaning their theme of careers that they're preparing students for um is uh suited for any student to find a space in if you want to be a neurosurgeon to I want to be a phabottomist uh you can find that whole spectrum of curriculum that could fit your uh career needs and wishes. Um, and it's it's pretty robust and uh they do a lot with not only the community but requesting appropriations money from the state in order to make this happen. Um, and one
007challenge we have here in our smaller school district is how do we communicate with families what's available? and they had some very insightful strategies that um I know the superintendent and her staff have been probably noodling on and thinking about uh so that we can move to that next level uh that uh is distinctly Flaggler but maybe inspired by some of the tremendous work through Semino County Schools. Thank you. >> All right. Yes. And that is correct. We are in the end of the year season. Uh all of our schools are preparing for the promotions and graduations. Lots of events happening. Uh both at Old Kings and Indian Trails. Uh both have really uh expressed their um uh satisfaction with the with their testing results. And I think that once we reconcile and have all
008those numbers in throughout the district, it's uh we're going to be pleasantly um surprised that we did very well overall. And um the over at uh at um Indian Trails, they're having their their end of the year gradastic celebration at SeaWorld. I know a lot of the kids are looking forward to that one. Uh my son, I know is. And um also I just you know I think principal Andrews should really also go into to marketing because they're having their level up celebration that's going to really uh praise all the efforts of for all the testing there and how his tagline is the only the biggest the loudest the most epic end of the year celebration at school and who does not want to go to that. So shout out to Principal Andrews there. Um,
009and that's all I have for today and I'll pass it on to you, chair. >> I guess, uh, I know there's a lot going on at the end of the year just wrapping up the school year. Um, couple of updates for me. The start with the Chamber of Commerce, the Flagler County Homebuilders Association, Flaggler County Association of Realtors. They will be holding a meet the candidates forum on June 30th and that will include the school board, county commission, city of Palm Coast. Also this summer, July 9th, Senator Tom Leak and Representative Sam Greco will hold a legislative update. That will be at the Hammock Dunes Club. Uh you'll need to register for that event if you choose to do that. I did not see a link yet for that available. And then I believe next
010week, May 26, Mayor Robinson, she will be hosting her state of the city address at 7 p.m. for the Flaggler County Education Foundation. Um, great to see all the scholarships that happen and students. Very exciting day. Um, let's see here. June 4th they will have their annual make it happen dinner. I'm going to ask Miss Rizzo about tickets for that because that's also a great event to attend. And June 9th will they will also be hosting financial planner Mark Cross. This will be at Palm Coast Community Center. He will be discussing financial and estate planning as well. All right. in the Flaggler Auditorium, Fitzgerald Performing Arts. Let's see. I believe this is today, May 19th, is the FPC spring band concert. That will be tonight, uh, starting at 7. May 28th, Spotlight on Flaggler Youth
011Talent Show. And June 6, Mabella Academy of Dance will be presenting You Can Be Anything. Um, for Vanel, their PTO is this evening at 4:15. You know, last Friday they had their Italian restaurant day. I really wanted to make it for that, but I had to work, but the pictures look really amazing. And just to see, I love going through car rider and seeing all the vegetables that they're growing, and it's just such a cool program that they have to offer. and the Flagler Historical Society May 23rd they will have a discussion presented by Preston Zep and that will be at the Palm Coast Community Center discussing information about the west side of the county including history, preservation, growth, the future of the county, the old brick road, things of that nature. So that sounds
012like a great event and that is it for me. All right. Do we have any changes or additions to the agenda today? >> Um, yes. One, uh, change, uh, 7.01, the slate of insurance benefits and insurance rates. If we can just move that after board policy updates. So, we'll do >> 10. Yes, it'll be last before the second public comment. >> Can I get a motion to approve the agenda? >> Move to approve. >> Second. >> Moved by Miss Ready, second by Mr. All in favor? >> I motion carries. >> All right. Do we have anybody for public comments today? >> No, there is not. >> Okay. And I believe we are moving on to policy updates with Mr. Sanfilippo. >> Good afternoon board. I'm here with some more exciting policy updates for you. Uh
013last time we met we kind of discussed 30 policies we presented uh last time today of 50 additional policies for you and we have additional eight that are kind of still the staff are working on. One was one of the policies we presented last time that's still in revision that we had a lot of discussion about that's still in revision phase for us. So we're not going to be talking about that one today. We do have 15 other ones to discuss and plus one with um Mr. Spence Smith. >> Okay. Sorry. Which one are we not discussing? No, we discussing all the ones that are here up on there. >> Okay. All right. So, 10.01 >> 10.01 >> board chair. How do you want to manage um discussion? Did we want to just check through
014any of them or did we want to coate any that we might have discussion? >> Um some of these are pretty simple, but if you if you if there's any particular you want to um start with, that's fine. and we are prepared to go through each one of them and move that conversation but we we will do it however okay you wish >> so as I go through I don't have this listed in a particular order that's what I didn't want to cause >> right >> um if we could take a look at the um oper uh section 8000 operations board owned vehicles Okay. >> Um, on here, one of the new lines, the second green new line says, "Employees shall be required to attest to their safe driving prior to operating a boardowned vehicle."
015Uh, my question is, let's say that some trouble befalls um an employee, they get DUI. are they required to provide that information uh when that happens to the district or uh because I'm thinking let's say you know one year they get a DUI and then in three months later they're being asked to drive uh students to an event for the school an attestation I don't know if that's real word >> but I said it. Okay, you're >> correct. >> Um to me means you're just asking me, hey, your driving record's good. And I say, yeah, I don't have to pro provide proof of that. Is that correct? >> Like how would we know what they're attesting to is accurate? So what we have implemented with our um QR code on on our vehicle is a
016pre check and a post check and one of the things on that is um the white fleet at a station where there is a there are a series of questions about your driving um within the last six months basically I believe is all that we go back I worked with Mr. Smith on what that looks like. And we want wanted to make sure that our drivers uh that if they're especially if they're driving kids um that we know about incidents and then that that information goes to their supervisor where they can dig in to deeper into if they answer affirmative to any of those questions. If they >> they would have to answer affirmative. >> They would. And there is there anything in our employee handbook or manual that says if you received a DUI
017in or you know negligent driving whatever it may be in the past let's say year you must proactively report that so that we don't assign them to drive in a situation >> unless you're a bus driver >> then no >> that's a requirement >> anytime they are so if someone is arrested for a DUI they must notif ify the district of any arrest. >> You'd have to be arrested. >> And I don't Do you always get arrested for a DUI or is it a ticket situation? >> Oh yeah, >> you always get arrested. Okay. So then that would cover that policy 3139 misconduct in that crime. >> Okay, great. >> So we do not require them to provide anything that um proves that what they are testing is true. Again, as um in this in
018our field, we need for individuals to have proper conduct and so um that would be considered misconduct and fraud if they were to lie in that sense. But um we do require them to attest that yes and every time um they are traveling uh with our students, anytime they are traveling outside of the county and then at least once a month they must complete the the um form on the vehicle that they are driving. >> That's if they drive it on a regular basis though once a month. You wouldn't if you you know I'm thinking you know you have your principles who are going to a conference and they take the white fleet. Those folks aren't necessarily completing it every month. >> We we we are requiring every White Fleet vehicle to have a inspection
019on it, a operator level inspection at least every 30 days. If they go out of the county, they have to do an inspection, a pre-check inspection, or if they're driving students, every time they drive students, they do a pre-check. >> Right. I I was referencing Miss Moore's though comment that it sounded to me and maybe I'm interpreting this incorrectly is that you're saying anybody who drives a white fleet vehicle every 30 days that they're being asked. >> So, >> or it's just the vehicle is being inspected. >> The vehicle is being expected. >> So, but we're we're not I guess what I'm trying to avoid is a situation where we've assigned that person the vehicle, the kid's in the car, right? They're going to regional band. They scan the and now they've scanned the QR
020code. Oh, I I've got this kit assigned to me. I'm in the car and now I've scanned it and I have uh if I say yes, what precludes them from just continuing to drive? >> Well, the QR code is the inspection is the pre-insspection. And then on the QR code, there is a link that before any driver, any white fleet driver should have already done that. Do you? Yes, >> everybody should have already had done the addestation to all the questions prior to them even getting in the car and doing >> Okay, so this would be how >> so if you if I'm organizing a field trip and I'm going to sign the three of you to um be to drive students, then at that time you would do it before you get to the
021point of assessing the vehicle to say that if you're going to drive the vehicle, you need to attest to these things. Okay. >> Yes. >> Great. Um, under DUI, is that also if um, you know, if somebody's on medical marijuana and they're under influence, does DUI cover both of those things? So, they'd also be arrested in that case. >> Okay, great. Thank you. Those are all the questions I have for for that one. >> Any other questions for you guys on that one? >> No. >> Any others, Mr. Ready? Um, I was just curious on uh 842 the emergency management preparedness piece. Um, is that the one that said we had to have a main and a backup uh person for safety? >> No, I'm sorry. That's >> safety specialist. >> That's not the right
022one. Sorry. Um, golly was okay. My qu basically my question is I know that Mr. Bosard currently is the district safety specialist. It says we now must have a second backup. Um, who is our second backup or is this new that we haven't uh implemented this revision? >> It's for the threat management coordinator. Thank you. Yes. And we do have we do have a secondary threat management coordinator. >> Okay. throws the bus back. >> Yes, Miss um Brandy Williams um serves as backup to him and we also have >> a backup to the to the backup. >> And so we we did that ahead of this policy change. >> Yes, we already look at that. >> Yeah. >> Wow. They're always ahead of the game. Beautiful. Uh those are all the questions on those policy
023items. I am >> Mr. Curry. Anything? >> No. No other questions? Yeah, these are all um minor changes, but Mr. Sample, anything you wanted us to look at? >> I think we're good. I just I I created a little spreadsheet to try to clarify a little which was minor, which was more statuto. I hope that was helpful. >> Yeah. >> Do you want to um just with the benefit of of look at 2461 2461? Oh, that's a great idea. Yes, we did make changes on 2461, which was the recording of IEPs meetings. I'll pull up here. And the adjustments here were basically on the times of notification. So that way we can notifying legal counsel to make sure that we're recording when parent request recording IP meetings, we're notifying our general counsel to review the
024information and that way go through our ESC department looking at that information and coming back with the termination sent back to the parents in a timely fashion within two days to 5 days. >> All right. >> And um 31 and uh 20 around our substitutes, but we already have a process if we want to just kind of address >> qualifications for our substitutes. So, you know, training for our subs. So, this uh the rule changed that changed with training qualifications. So, we added in language in here for training qualifications for substitutes, you know, putting language in there for associates for your hire and then having our uh onboarding and our orientation trainings in policy as well. Yeah, I was excited to see that. Um, with the uh does our current subpool have anybody with the
025high school diploma only and or uh are we ahead of the game on that as well? >> Walker board chair superintendent. Yeah. So when we looked at this, it was brought to our attention that hey, per state statute, we really don't have to require them to have an associates degree or higher. But in my experience with the department, we have always required our substitute teachers at minimum to have an associates degree. >> Great. Okay. >> So we don't need to stress about that. Right. >> Beautiful. And >> the last one where there's some kind of many changes for due is going to be 74 because of um title 2 and ADA adjustments. Again, it's pushed back a year, but we do have uh processes in place for that. So, we address any cost. >> Yes.
026So, our the original requirement was for us to be in compliance by April of 2026. So, we've worked extremely hard. Um and so we're in a really good place. Uh but now it has been extended for one additional year. So, how they they broke it up like some districts were um given already the f the 20 2027 date um and some of us had a 2026 date, but now that has been extended to give um districts more time to be in compliance with that. But though we do have more time, we still are working to make sure that we have all of these compliance pieces put into place. Great. All right. Thank you, Mr. Sanders. And like, if you have the spreadsheet, I'll update the information and resend it out to you with the changes
027after the other additional policies are done with hopes of a plan of June coming with all the rest of policies so we can look forward advertising from there. >> And for the benefit of the public, can will you uh share especially we have some students in the um audience today that are um review are here um to just see your process and such. would you explain where we are with this the the policy update and what our next steps will be before these policies u go into place so typically we get information from the with all the policy updates based on statutory changes um rule changes or just some information from around the districts that they receive that needs to be updated changes policies they provide those policy updates to our district uh we go
028through those as a staff reviewing those policy changes to see which ones those would impact us that we need to implement we make those changes, we share them with the board like we're doing today. Kind of workshop that information to get get input from the board. We're going the direction for those policies and then we come before the board to for permission to advertise. We advertise to the public when we get permission for 21 days looking for public input. If we have public input, we make adjustments to those policy policies as necessary. If there's no public input, we move forward with those policies to present again back to the board for approval. >> Thanks much. Thanks. Oh, and then we'll go to 10.02, which is um school board policy 9160. And this um policy is
029a we we have not made any recommendations for revisions as this came forward as a board request to discuss um uh the trespass or the um trespass of employees that have been terminated off u from our organization. And so we're here really to answer questions and have a conversation with the board around this request. >> Yeah. Uh board chair. >> Go ahead. Uh so this is one that I brought forward for discussion. Uh and essentially we have a really tight policy to protect students. However, I can see where when there are situations where an employee is either terminated or they resign in lie of termination, while they may have lost their uh credential in order to serve Flaggler County Schools or sometimes other school districts, there may not have been the prepoundonderance of evidence on
030the legal side in order to um move uh that move forward with charges or convictions uh with regard to um police investigations and things of that nature. But my uh position is that we should always have a higher standard of care for our students. And that if we have situations where an employee has been removed either due to uh you know those extreme items uh like u possession of substances uh abuse um inappropriate relationships whether or not they're necessarily proven to the level that legally if there has been a resignation or a termination that We also restrict their ability to attend after school functions. Uh you know during school obviously that's already protected but after school right we're not having the ID checkin right people can come in to a football game can come into
031a volleyball game whatever it may be. Um, and my understanding, uh, and I would defer to the attorneys here, is that there is not an ability to restrict people indefinitely, right? Um, however, I was proposing that perhaps we provide a restriction uh that is pretty generous, something like, you know, 10 years. Um, and you know, if then they don't have felonies or things of that nature, then they may return to those events if they if they so wish. So that that's kind of the proposal and starting point for a discussion. >> Okay. >> So this is something you want to add to this policy here. >> Correct. >> Okay. U you have something to >> Sure. Um, one of my first questions is, um, we whatever policy the board would want to pursue, you need
032to have a clear operational plan for implementing it consistently. And I would need to spend more time with staff and ask more questions. But when I think about my own experience with high schoolers and the various types of events, um lots of times for some of the smaller sports or not, football, basketball, uh you have parents handing a gate uh as opposed to um district staff, you know, taking tickets and so forth. And I imagine that we have some events here in Flagler that would be similar. So maintaining that list of persons who have are not permitted um and applying that I think will be difficult for parent volunteers if if we do have that. So I've got lots of questions about the operational implementation of this. Um, I do have some concerns about um,
033essentially trespassing someone from community events for a 10-year time period, which the courts would view as is a pretty long period of time, uh, without affording them some due process to contest that decision. Um, even though we are the property owners. Um, and one of the tools that HR has available to them is to say for various reasons, we may not want to go to a hearing and go through the steps that are required to fire an employee, but if they are on an annual contract, we may not renew them. Maybe we don't have a situation. Clearly, we're going to meet our obligations. We're going to report everything to the state that we're that we're required to do. I don't mean to suggest otherwise, but there may be concerns about an employee that don't rise
034to the level of uh evidence of a crime that needs to be reported to law enforcement or evidence um that would of an ethical violation that would be required to be reported to the state. But the human resources department and the uh supervisors of this employee and their best judgment say this is not somebody we want to go forward with working. the district has the ability to do that through the non-renewal of contract. But then if you're going to turn around and bar them from campus for a significant period of time, they're probably going to be entitled to some type of evidentiary here to contest that. So there there's some challenges with the framework there that that I see. So, um we have as an organization issued trespass to individuals um for for district own
035property. Um, what we would need to do, and I'm not an attorney by by any means, is, you know, if the board was going to write something into this policy, it would need to be broad enough to allow for us to address it case by case. So that because what we will have to do for a trespass is that we are going to have to identify what the scope is and what's the duration that it's going to be. So, you know, to your point of like 10 10 years, well, that 10 years with the scope of that or the the reasoning behind that, we would have to be able to to have the evidence to to support that. Um, and then also being able to provide um an employee due process and an an opportunity
036also to appeal um that that decision. So, we have trespassed individuals from our property. We have not trespassed individuals in this from this policy standpoint, this lens. We have not from my un my since my time of what I know trespass individuals from all of our property. We have trespassed them from individual property um being to the scope of it and then to the duration. So, if the board desires to go in that direction, it would just need to be um given it needs to be written in a way that would allow for the district to be able to then implement it, but for us to be able to um implement it on that case byase basis, which I think is kind of a part of the whole trust pass process. >> Um board chair,
037>> Mr. So I I would argue though when an employee is um fired uh not a non-renewal but they are terminated or they resign in lie of termination there is due process because typically there is uh a a written uh >> investigation >> uh investigation. they are if they're part of the union able to bring union representation. Um they we're we're not talking about a non-renewal situation where you know okay their behavior is questionable. It's they did something that we pro we did report to the police officials and that even though the police officials did not have enough evidence, we have a higher standard of of care. And so again, when that whole process is happening, there is ample time. They're often put on a a leave of absence. um sometimes with pay, sometimes without
038depending upon the situation. Um and in terms of policy, I I hear that. But we're not talking about a population where implementation would be um uh unrealistic, right? How many we could probably list on one hand, right? How many individuals this may have applied to. And while I'm not not empathetic to the needs to figure out how to implement a policy, as a reminder, as a school board, I'm often told policy is not my lane, right? Or not. So procedures, processes are not my lane. Policy is. So our lane is to develop the policy and then put in your trusted hands the ability to execute that policy. So, um, and I also believe that there is a Florida statute that again maybe the attorneys can speak to that support moving in this direction. Um, so
039if um um attorney uh can can you maybe clarify what that statute is, what it means, how we're currently complying with it? >> Well, there's uh there's a few different statutes that cover uh the responsibility of the school to provide for a safe environment and also like as you're as you're talking as you're discussing or and there's also a um a um a responsibility placed on the school by statute to uh ensure that we're educating students, you know, so providing for a feeling of safety. So those two things definitely up the standard or the the the that we have as compared to the beyond a reasonable doubt standard that you're discussing. But there's a third statute that was if um something about inappropriate relationships with a student that essentially that employee um should be uh
040I'm not uh you know the language it doesn't matter the age. Typically it's oh if they're 18 then that well there's nothing we can do because they're an adult. It's even if they're 18, you in the position of an authority or as a teacher have no business having a relationship with that student. So that they should have um some sort of penalty against them. And if you can expound on that, that would be helpful. >> Yeah. So, uh the statute that we were just discussing, that's Florida statute 106.07 and then also 101.41 41 and then the specific statute that allows for us to trespass is 810.097. And then um I believe what you're talking about is basically taking victim advocacy statutes that basically ensure that victims aren't going to be revictimized by encountering. And so
041there's a few different there's a few different ways that's implemented both through federal standards and like title n that type thing and then also through um through u Florida statutes as well. So um I I I think that there's good support for that. I think that you're completely right even with the the 10year standard. I think that's that's a there might be certain situations where 10 years would be appropriate. Although I believe the we might lean towards a court might see that as draconian at first, but if we had the proper evidence to show that they were that kind of threat to the safety and it would that would make sense, then then that's possible. Um, but I but I do uh want to double what uh Mr. Delaney is saying and also what the
042superintendent is saying is that the way that the the case law shakes down both in Florida and also at a federal level is that there has to be um there has to be an understanding or a weighing by the school as the decider in implementing 810 okay 097 there has to be this case by basis by by through which they weigh the rights of the privacy interests of the individual that they might be encroaching upon those rights versus the responsibilities of the school and um we have to set up a a process through which we attack that on a case-byase basis. And so it's we get into dangerous territory. I'm not saying it's a bad idea to make an addition to the policy. We're saying we don't want to be too specific with that because
043anything that would be perceived by a circuit court that would be appealing this or or at a higher level could easily say, "Oh, well, you have these blanket um statements where you're just, you know, you're making a blanket decision where you're not going to take a case on a case by case basis." So that if someone is charged with this or whatever or uh they're immediately trespassed for a certain number of years and with a with regard to a certain scope that that's not a recipe for success with with this approach. So I think the approach makes a lot of sense but we have to be careful with our language and some of what we end up doing might be more appropriate for SOP or uh um especially with regard to what Mr. Delaney was
044saying with regard to assuring due process to whoever's rights were encroaching upon to ensure the safety of the students. >> Um m chair >> thanks. So um I I'm I'm definitely an advocate for keeping our our campuses safer, our events safer 100%. And um I I'm not opposed to um adding in some additional language here. The the question is, as it's already been stated by council, how we address it because we don't want to immediately put a policy that's going to invite litigation or a lawsuit just by the mere fact that we've put in language that is too restrictive or, you know, setting um matterof fact uh uh trespass terms that um maybe to um overreaching. So I would say that um you know leaving to some discretion to the district but by putting the
045policy in there it it creates a mechanism of oversight in this instance. So if a person is trespassed on one of our campuses that that that's a trigger. There needs to be some sort of trigger here to for for the district to act with this additional policy. So that's another part is we have to identify what are those triggers uh that say okay well district sees okay no we got to look we got to look into this and and carry this out. Um so I think that's a lot of where some of the further discussion has to be um placed and again that that's something rely heavily on council to help us craft that. >> Right. So >> yeah like it's not my intention to say oh you know you shoplifted or you got a
046speeding ticket. It's you know there was an inappropriate relationship with a student. there is um uh maybe you know they are caught with enough drugs for intent to distribute uh >> violence against students >> right physical violence. So to me those are the three that I feel comfortable limiting the scope to and the only reason I put a timeline on it is because I was advised that the opposite is actually more negative to say indefinite. So, I was trying to put an expiration date on it. Um, and if we want to have a tier um for those different um um offenses, that's fine. And uh the trigger is essentially well anybody that is not nonrenewed but they are terminated like they are put on a leave of absence because we immediately have to remove them
047from being in the presence of students and they are fired or they resign in lie of termination. To me those are the two clear triggers. >> Okay. Okay. So, do we want our attorneys to look at this more and bring back some language? Is that reasonable? >> And just so that I could I can make when you you're saying your the triggers for you are are coupled. It is we are investigating these three areas where it's um uh inappropriate. Um when you say inappropriate, I I want to make sure I'm clear about inappropriate relationship. whatever that there's a specific statute I'll leave >> but there is language >> around there that says whether it's a sexual relationship whether they're a minor which is pedophilia or >> they're not a minor but it is taking advantage
048of their position of power >> yeah okay I just wanted to make sure I did not want to um make an assumption and I want so inappropriate relationship um physical harm towards students and then drug possession. >> Well, drug possession where like are they looking like they're uh distributing to the student population, right? That's different than if somebody let's say they're prescribed um medical marijuana and did something stupid and left it in their bag and took it to school. >> Yeah. And I if I can just make sure I have that second piece. So those three areas um with and the second piece of that trigger would be these are obviously these things would be a recommendation for termination or um the recommendation is termination but the individual attempts to >> um resign in >>
049because of the investigation. There's no way out for them. Yeah. I feel that's their best force. >> Yeah. In in general, anything also that's contributing to the delinquency of a minor um you know that would be more of a charge. Uh in in many cases that would be more of a u a criminal charge. But um I I believe Miss Ready is more pointing toward um employees that are either being terminated or have uh resigned in lie of >> right because they've done this on our property with our students something where and we've taken the steps in all of these cases. we would have to report this to a law enforcement agency, but many times there isn't enough uh to necessarily press charges, but there's enough to fire or they choose to resign. And so
050that to me is where well, if we didn't want them in the classroom, why do we want them, you know, at one of our after school athletic games? The o so this is again we got to look at it from all angles. We we so we trespass this person from public attendance at school events and as we said earlier we have parents that are manning the the gates. Um how do we facilitate this? How do we how do we make sure that that parent or whoever is manning the gate knows that that person is trespassed? Do we >> that's process and I would leave that to Mr. Foster debt but again if we have less than five people it's hey here's the sheet of people that shouldn't come through >> not not pro the process
051I agree the the district can put that into place. Um, but I'm just saying from a liability standpoint, uh, >> right now we do provide notice of individuals who are pro, uh, are trespassed from our our campus. Um, so right now we do provide that notice to those individuals um that need that information around individuals. >> But how do they identify them? Do they is there a picture along with them and everything? Okay, so they >> they get the official trespass. >> Okay. I mean, I think it's definitely worth looking into it further and seeing what kind of language we can come up with. >> Yeah. No, I I think it's I think it's a valid potential concern um that this could potentially avoid a future issue. Uh >> and and I I will say
052that there um we have taken this case by case for um we've applied this to employees We've implied this to um the general public as well as far as a parent a parent. Um so this this we have done this on a case-bycase um basis. But what I'm hearing from Miss Ruddy and the board is wanting us to draft some language around what this would look like to be um not necessarily just a case by case but something that automatically triggers that this is something we would be looking at. >> Yeah. And I think that that's a better that may be a better way to look at it. Um, you know, without getting into all the legal side of this, you know, when when you have uh when when when the district is just subjectively
053deciding, hey, for this person, we're going to trespass them because we don't like what we saw over here, right? Uh, and on this person, we're not. that leaves some uh area for um question on on the the person that did and didn't. Um it's up to interpretation. Is that more egregious than the than the act that that that I did? And some are more obvious than others. If we have a clear trigger uh in there um and and it should be definitely with the collaboration with the experience that where you have used the trespass before where where that bar started there. I want to bring that in because that that's an area where maybe that maybe that is the trigger point right right there. So that might be more conversation has to be around um
054prior >> and and I will cases if and if I can add um you know to that when any when allegations are brought before us we do investigate and um we do submit that information to the state and some and sometimes the the um department will also uh revoke their certific cification if they are an individual that has a certification, but there are many employees that do not fall under that category. Um, to Miss Brody's point, as well as, you know, we there are um allegations that will require us to consult with law enforcement, but we also don't control that system either. And so it's really about from our lens, what are the things that we can do to ensure that our campuses um are as safe as possible for our students. >> Okay. >>
055Especially when there's a victim on our campus. >> So we have some direction. We'll have our attorneys look at that language, see what they can bring. >> Okay. Good starting point. >> One thing just a little bit of clarification from the board. Um it would the interest be in exclusion of persons from all district-owned property regardless of whether there's a student event occurring or not. Thinking there may be one carve out that occurs to me there's some cases that support the idea of someone still being able to attend a board meeting um to address their concerns during public comment to the board. Um, so we may need to think about a carve out for that situation because of first amendment. >> I agree with that. To me, it's where there are students who are participating
056in school or after school activities, not functions of the, you know, government or if they want to use their first amendment to bring questions or concerns because they may still have children in this the system. Sure. And and we have, you know, students present at today's meeting and and every evening meeting. So, I'm just trying to make sure I'm uh understanding so we can implement what the board's vision is, the what what the correct tri triggers would be for these events. Yeah, I would say for me I want to I want to create maximum protection for our students, faculty and staff but with also respecting uh individual rights of the person >> and this of course would only apply to events or property within the district. We lots of times have students traveling to other
057locations and we wouldn't be able to >> control that. Then they the students are subjected to the safety guard rails of >> Yes. >> Otherwise we'd have to send staff to you know that offsite situation >> just clarify that. >> Yeah. Thank you about the campuses because we I don't recall us having any that has just been all campuses. has been like this particular campus where there has been a victim. >> I mean to that note though, so let's say that an employee, you know, um violated their power of authority and in some way with a student and there are no legal uh charges placed against them. If they were to then assign uh sign up to be a volunteer chaperone or for a field trip, how are is that uh sponsor triggered? Are they
058put on our no on our no volunteer list or how does that >> if if they are on a tr trespass, it's based on that scope of that that that trespass. >> No, I'm saying currently when we don't have currently we don't have this system in place. We do have where we notify like if someone is trespassed, we do ident we do inform our >> I I'm I think I'm being mis I want to make sure I clear and we have not trespassed an individual an individual person A has worked for a district maybe that we found that they um uh the physical contact with the student was not appropriate physical violence perhaps. Okay. We then put them on leave. We investigate. We report to the legal authorities. The legal authorities feel it does not
059meet the the level to provide charges, but we terminate them. If that person were to then volunteer for their kids field trip, how are they blocked from being a volunteer because they were fired with us or if they resigned in lie of termination even if the law enforcement agency did not pursue charges? If an individual is terminated from our organization, it does not prohibit them from being able to volunteer or participate in other activities unless they have um some type of charge that would prevent them from being able to volunteer as would anybody else within the >> Well, then I would think that that would need to be layered in here, right? If we if we fired somebody because we did not feel that they were fit for classroom or school level duty, why would
060we allow them to chaperone students, which could be for overnight trips? >> So, if we are you are I want to make sure I'm clear. Are you talking about outside of a trespass? You're talking you're not talking because right now we have employees that we have terminated that we have trespassed that would not be allowed to then volunteer or or such. You're asking just if a person is terminated if they are allowed >> these three categories. >> So inappropriate relationship physical or drugs but yet they did not receive a charge. They are not automatically flagged as not appropriate to volunteer. If we're not going to allow them to watch a softball game, why would we allow them to chaperon trips or overnight trips? >> Yes, absolutely. I agree with that. >> I think Okay. >>
061Yeah. And I I say um this is a good starting point. Let's get a a policy written that we can workshop and build and build off of and add to or subtract to. But uh I think it's a good starting point what we created today. >> Sounds good. Thank you, Mito. >> Thank you very much. >> Okay, so we're moving on to slate of insurance benefits with Mr. Walker. for the public's information. We've um had a lot of executive session on this and discussion, but you'll get to hear about it today. >> Yes. And we also have Miss Daniel Bole here. >> Miss Bole. Thank you. >> This is this is the same one on the >> This is the same one that is on the line. >> Nice to see you all again. >>
062Good afternoon. So, as we all get settled in, uh, board chair, superintendent war, there has been, uh, extensive talks as it relates to insurance and what our plan benefits are as we head into the 2627, uh, plan year, which starts September 1. Uh, I will turn it over to Miss Danielle Bole to kind of go over where we ended up have landed for next year. And you will see in here as well the rate sheet that has been tenatively agreed upon between the school district and the uh two unions. >> All right. So just to take you through the executive summary, you want to grab this? >> Absolutely. So this change as we had discussed at the February workshop and then ever since then requires a move from Florida Blue um into a an independent
063third party administrator Health Scope Benefits which is owned by United Health Group. So they're the ones that will be paying the claims, processing the claims um because that is not something that we would want to put you all in the position of doing. Uh this is really uh a change that has been one of the best projects I've ever worked on because you started at a 22% increase which is not something that is no one can afford that the employees the the board no one. And so to address this we have looked at other options that we've been researching for two years. This is a network replacement model which means you no longer are held to PO network contract details that are between the insurance carrier and the hospitals and physician groups. Instead we have
064our own open access they call it direct access plus plans where employees can go without the uh network barrier. Um there is a different educational process that we will be very hands-on with with your employees. This will be a fair, transparent, and cost plus model for pricing your claims. Instead of the discount off of the starting build charge for hospital claims, specifically inpatient, outpatient claims, we're doing what is the cost of that service and a enough for a profit. And so, we definitely do not want to um have hospitals lose money. We appreciate our our community hospitals and want our employees and members have the best care but want a fair transparent price. Um, Health Scope partners with a vendor claim do and claim doc is a national medical claim auditing and member advocacy company
065and they support self-funded employers like the district. They do this by auditing every single facility claim that comes in to uh health scope. that goes right over to claim doc and they have a team that has extend extensive experience auditing and billing medical claims. So they know all the codes, the rules, the bundles, the non-bundles and that in itself has resulted in tremendous savings for other clients which I've shared at prior workshops. the in addition to the auditing they are going to look at the cost of that price which is either the hospital's filed cost of that price or of that service or the um Medicare rate that is on there and enough for them to make 125% at a minimum. So there's always going to be a profit. It's just not going to be
066as large of a profit that we're seeing, which when we're looking at claims in all of my clients, it can be anywhere from 300 to a,000% above what the cost of that service was. And so, it's just getting a fair transparent price for all of your employees. The three medical plan options that will be offered provide richer benefits than your employees have today. Every one of the three plans is richer than any of your plans today. And the funding, the overall increase in funding is 4% of that. The board increase is a 5.16 and the employee aggregate increase is flat. So you might be wondering how that math checks out, but 4% of the total cost of the plan. The board absorbing all of it leaves that board increase at 5.16. The board had a
067goal of offering more affordable coverage for those with employee child or children. So many of your employees cannot afford to cover their kids and that's a challenge and certainly something that you wanted to address and we've been working on it for a couple of years now. I'm happy to say that under this model employees would be able to have that coverage for less than $200 per paycheck which is an substantial savings. The pharmacy benefit manager is transitioning from CVS Caremark through RX benefits to Med Impact. Med Impact is the largest independent PBM in the country. It was founded in 1989. They're located in San Diego and they have um specialized within the public sector and union uh group for for much of that time period. They also have a presence throughout the country. What is
068different about them versus the big three pharmacy benefit managers and in that I mean CVS, Express Scripts, and um Optum is that they're not beholding to any insurance carrier. They don't own their ownies and so it's truly an independent transparent way to have a formulary setup. They're they are after the lowest net cost, meaning we don't want to have a a larger list price and look at the rebate and say, "Oh, let's play the rebate game." It's truly how can we get this for the lowest net net cost for that condition within their that treatment category. Um, you're going to have the same access to the retailies that you have today. The formulary disruption when we looked at it, there were 22 employees that were impacted, 40 members. And of those, there is an alternative
069for every medication, but it's things like insulin where they're interchangeable. Um, there is a transition period where 45 days before this change goes into effect, members will receive a letter if their drug is changing um and they need to take any action. There's also a a handholding process over the next 90 days wherein members will have the chance to get an override and get that thing filled um while they go through the transition with their with their provider. That is one of the best disruptions I've ever seen whenever you're changing pharmacy benefit managers in that everyone has a different list and where the medication falls on that list or which medications are covered often change much more than that. Um so we will begin upon board approval the implementation of that and make sure that
070employees understand the difference. I think similar to RX benefits today employees will have a advocacy a concierge experience. So when they call in it's not a giant CVS caremark represent or call center. They're going to have a a team that knows their plan. uh HR and my office will also have a team that can solve problems right away for your members. That represented a 22% improvement in prescription drug pricing compared to your current contract. So when we look at these on year-toear it's anywhere from 5 to 7% maybe sometimes 9 to 12% that we're able to achieve pricing improvement. The reason for this is MET impacts stance on the lowest net cost. So, it's truly not the the same uh spread pricing model that the big three have. Life, disability, and supplemental benefits. There was
071a comprehensive RFP process, and the insurance committee recommended the standard insurance company for these lines of coverage. Uh there is an employer savings of about 18,500 per year or the employer paid benefits, including the life and long-term disability, and a three-year rate guarantee. But in addition to that, we were able to um have some enhancements that aren't necessarily financial on those lines of coverage. And so um we will have a little bit on that in a moment. Medical plans and contributions. These there will be three plans for employees to choose from. We call them the platinum, the HSA, and the gold plans. The platinum plan is called that for a reason. It's one of the richest plans that you could offer. And I'll just hit highlights without reading it line by line. Uh there is
072an expanded cancer screening benefit on all three of these plans. What I mean by that is there is no cost for any mammogram breast ultrasound. Uh if the test is needed to detect for cancer or to take a closer look, it's going to be covered for free. Colonoscopies also. So one of the biggest challenges we see is employee goes in has a colonoscopy. becomes diagnostic while they're sedated and they now owe a co-ay for that or deductible. This will continue. This will be free. And so we're trying to remove the barrier, encourage people to have those screenings and catch things early because if you catch something at stage one, your survival rate and the overall cost and outcome is substantially better than a stage three. Um, so that's listed across the the board. Skin cancer
073is the other one I do want to call out because for whatever reason the skin cancer test is not um part of the preventive task force as established by the ACA. And so it's it doesn't have to be free with employer plans and often it's not. We live in Florida. We need to have skin cancer screenings. We need to be having them often. Um melanoma can happen at any age. So go get your skin cancer screenings. It'll be free. primary care specialist. All of the co-pays that are listed here are improved versus what you have today. Uh employees will be able to have virtual visits also for both acute and behavioral health care. So therapy if they want to have um their therapy telephonically. The biggest one I would say is the inpatient hospital is
074$700 on this plan and that is all in. Meaning if you are there for a two night stay or a 300 night stay, your cost is $700 as a member and that includes your provider fees, your pathology, your radiology, your anesthesiology, everything that happens within that stay is $700. The ambulance is also a co-ay so that we have some predictability there at 500 and inpatient or I'm sorry outpatient hospital 250 as we get down into the miscellaneous services. But one thing I want to call out is that labor and delivery would include your provider fee $700. It's not often I'm able to talk to a client and they can say you can you know what your cost is to have that baby. It's $700 all in and that includes the initial visit. >> That includes
075from your first doctor's appointment >> all the way through. >> $700 for a baby. >> Awesome. >> Um the other thing on the HSA plan, it's a $2,000 individual deductible. No co insurance. So that means once you've met $2,000 including your pharmacy, anything that's medical, you you've met your out of pocket as well. Remove some of that confusion that can happen. If you have anything other than single coverage, that deductible is 4,000. So that can be employee, spouse, and child all have some claims and they make up a total of 4,000 or one person has a bad year, the other family members have no claims, it's 4,000. That's just IRS rules for these plans. But same idea once they've hit the deductible, they've hit the out-of- pocket maximum. Free wellness, free cancer screenings on this
076plan as well. And they will have a a list of free preventive generic medications so that they don't have to pay for medications that are considered preventive. The gold plan is also a strong benefit in that it has co-pays for most services. And so without going through every line item, uh $500 a day for days one through five is the inpatient on this plan. So what does that mean? If you're in there for two days, it just costs $1,000. It's all in. It does. It includes your provider fees just like I was just mentioning. Um if you're in there for 5 days, you pay $2,500, but that's it. If you're in there for more than 5 days, you cap out at the $2,500 in patient responsibility. and that um that's it. So, it's a stronger
077benefit than you have on any of your plans today. And this is the lowest cost of the three options. Um the only other thing I would like to explain while we're here is this plan does have a deductible. It's $1,000. That deductible only applies to the things at the very bottom that say miscellaneous services. Things like skilled nursing, home health care, hospice, med durable medical equipment, and hearing aids. Everything else is going to have a fixed dollar amount that is listed here on the screen. Any questions on the plan designs? Lots of lots of numbers on here, but um I think just to call out some important items. What's highlighted in yellow on the bottom right is what employees are paying today on your lowest cost plan for employee child or children versus what that
078will cost on the gold plan which is a stronger benefit. So they today are paying $452 per paycheck and that goes to $196.88. Now if somebody has been on one of the more expensive plans over the years they're going to see an even bigger savings than that. Um, I think it's it's great that you've been able to focus on that for this renewal. Um, ancillary and supplemental benefits. Just some highlights to call out that were part of the reason the insurance committee voted in this manner. The long-term disability was enhanced. So, it's the max benefits going from 6,000 to 11,000, which really make sure your your higher earners are also insured up at 66 and 2/3. The assisted living benefit pays up to 80% of your predisability income if you're unable to perform two or
079more activities of daily living. So if somebody is disabled or out of work for more than um the waiting period and they have severe cognitive impairment and they can't toilet or get up or take do the things that it it requires or that life requires then they will be able to have 80% of their income during that whole long-term disability period. The standard pays the employer's matching FICA and Medicare taxes and then some of the basic life family benefit package that just come in for all of standards life insurance policies, higher education, career adjustment and child care benefits. The idea here is if the employee passes away, we want the family to not lose the opportunities that um that income would have afforded. So, it'll pay up to $5,000 a year to help the spouse
080go back to school to get a job. um higher education benefit will help pay for tuition expenses for the the children and then the child care benefit as well. Your voluntary life insurance, we've increased the guarantee issue from a 100,000 to 300,000 for employees and up to 50,000 for spouses. Um this is a true open enrollment which means employees today if they don't have any voluntary life insurance or if they have any amount that's under 300,000 they can get up to that 300,000 with no medical questions. This only happens really when you change insurance carriers and there's a negotiation that takes place. So this is a big benefit for this year for members. >> And then the last thing would be the supplemental benefits. The accident hospital indemnity and critical illness plans. We've found substantial
081savings on the accident. 60% lower rates with matching or enhanced benefits versus what is available today. your hospital indemnity plan will have 7% lower rates matching or enhancing the benefits also and then the critical illness uh just to call out the additional conditions that are covered in addition to the primary ones like cancer heart attack stroke the other ones that are standard includes our advanced alzheimer's Parkinson's brain tumors uh cereal paly inu for babies and then the childhood diseases that are listed up there that plan pays a lump sum upon on diagnosis of any of those covered conditions and um employees and members can use that as they need to. And then the short-term disability, I think the biggest thing to call out is that this is a true group short-term plan and it has
082no pre-existing condition exclusions and no evidence of insurability to sign up. If you know you're going to be out for a certain period of time during the plan year, you can sign up for this and plan to use it. It replaces 60% of weekly earnings to a max of 2500 per week. And the claims are paid every week or a lump sum for most labor and delivery claims. >> So board, this item is going to be before you tonight at the 6:00 meeting and petting board approval. Our team's been kind of working in the background getting ready to start pushing information out to our employees as early as uh middle to end of this week, letting them know open enrollment, which will most likely be in the middle of June, early to mid June, pushing
083that out, having educational pieces in place so that our folks can get a good understanding of what these changes will represent so that they can make an informed decision heading into open enrollment. And then as we transition from Florida blue uh to our claim docum when we start heading towards the end of the plan year in August when folks start coming back we'll have another education campaign for folks so that uh they can get in contact with their doctors facilities and everything like that. We want to make this transition as uh as simple and uh not burdensome on the employee as we head to the next plane year. >> Any discussion? Um, I just want to kind of appeal to our staff and faculty. Healthc care as we know it is broken and it I
084know everybody's going to go to the pricing plan pages and just look at those premiums and there's cause for celebration. You would be hardpressed to find any other organization that is public education institution in Florida or for that matter a business uh entity that in this year and environment is not drastically increasing the cost of their premiums. But this only happens if we're flexible. Because this model is not the cookie cutter model that we're used to and is only going to be successful if we change our behavior just like we would if we were shopping for a car, right? You're going to call around. We have to bring those uh behaviors and mindsets to our health insurance. And um I if we don't see right some increased participation from those healthy individuals, insurance doesn't work.
085Our insurance fund was uh over $800,000 in the red. Essentially bankrupt this year. So, we're trying to uh recoup that, redesign a plan that is uh uh affordable for our staff and faculty. But again, it has to come with an open mind that we're going to have to put a little more effort into selecting our care. And uh otherwise we would have no op option but to bring to you a last year's premium plus probably over 25% to make up for the shortfall that has come in um over this year due to the extremely uh high cost of prices that even actuaries scientists who study data and trends did not predict. Um, so I just wanted to be clear that under the new plans when the insured wants to go out and and and be
086treated or seeing a doctor, they can now go to different um providers, not just within the network. So if they have if there's a doctor up in in uh St. Augustine or down in Daytona that maybe you couldn't go to before because it was out of the network. Now they they could go to that doctor. >> Correct. So the way that this plan is designed is that it's truly open access. What we advise members because it's not going to say Blue Cross on the ID card or Etna or the names that offices are familiar with. When you need to have an appointment, call your advocate. This plan comes with a white glove service model where every member will have a dedicated advocate to talk to anytime they want to if they're going to a new
087doctor, if they have an existing relationship. This advocate's job is to call and explain how to submit a claim to the plan and answer any questions that that provider has. Um the acceptance rate nationally is 97% within this model, which is more than we actually see with PPOs. and the recommendations that claim doc would make. If you call a claim doc, >> they're going to have certain providers that that that we've already talked to that that >> Yes. So, depending on the the circumstance, they'll they'll do what a normal advocacy would do. Is all right. Where do you have any preference on the location and is there somebody you're already thinking of going to? Outside of that, they're going to look at who has been working with the plan and had good outcomes. And so
088we're actually able to steer members into a higher quality, lower cost environment under this model, which was forbidden under a traditional network contract. Um it's it's given you a lot more flexibility for members and I think the end result will be a better outcome. Um but if if there is a provider that um wants to charge a higher profit margin, >> correct? >> You're not restricted from going there. It just affects your your cost deductibles. >> So an example on that would be if you have a provider that wants to charge $1,000 and the cost of that service is 50. you're welcome to still go there, but that doesn't mean the plan has to cover that full delta because there are options that are going to be a fair and transparent price where maybe they
089the provider gets $75 or $90 but not a,000. And so the difference there would be the the employee would pay out of pocket for what is not covered under the plan. I've not seen that happen often because there are so many alternatives. And so um the option to go and and have the care and pay out of pocket and submit to the plan and be reimbursed up to plan guidelines is always there. >> And to clarify when you say the cost is that cost is determined by the amount that's essentially agreed upon by that uh IND industry standard for Medicare. it is what they that own hospital or provider's office has to file with CMS every year as to their cost. >> So it's not this insurance is being too cheap to cover it. It's
090this is the agreed upon standard that has been negotiated for Medicare and what often happens is health insurance providers will charge in excess of that to those people who are not on Medicare. Correct. And so what we're essentially holding providers to is to offer the Medicare price to all customers. >> Well, and plus a significant margin. And so any business wants to make I mean 25 is even a great margin for many businesses 25%. Um this plan at a minimum though will be a 25% margin and depending on the complexity it can go up above that. So yes, it's it's a cost plus. And I don't know if anyone follows the Mark Cuban stuff, the guy from Shark Tank, he has a a drug company called Mark Cuban's cost plus drugs. And it's the same
091idea. It's what is the cost? I'm fine paying a profit to anyone as long as I understand how that I'm not paying 10 times what that that cost is. And >> so that that's the idea here. Well, transparency is ultimately going to benefit the whole industry, the whole and I'm hoping this also helps out our plan, but I just want to also build off of what Miss Ruddy said and just encourage those of our staff that are taking the insurance to maybe look at this a little different than maybe you've been looking at it before. You know, you we have a a family plan and you choose that to protect your family, right? But the reality is our insurance plan, we are all one big family in this plan, right? Um and so we have
092one big bank account that we're sharing um in this family to pay all the medical bills. So if the bills are higher, then overall the family's going to pay more. If the bills are less, they're going to pay less. Now, what I'm my point is here is never sacrifice uh quality of care or preventive um measures when it comes to your healthcare. But now that you have this open access that we've created, maybe be mindful of of what that uh where you're going and what it costs because that's going to ultimately benefit the plan and and hopefully translate into the future of having to not increase rates. Um um so keep that in mind. But and and remember for the things that it fits, we invested a lot for you into our wellness center and
093it is uh you know there's a lot of things that can be um taken care of there and we can also manage our costs a little better through that um venue. So, uh, I'm I really want to thank the board and staff and and the spoil. We we really worked hard. This is this is probably one of the most challenging areas that a board member is tasked with is is the benefits and the insurance and we really got a win for families here that we got the cost down to get children on the plan. So kudos to everybody on that uh for for for helping deliver that for our employees and uh we'll just continue to work hard to make it better and better every moment every chance we get. So >> yeah, I just
094want to say thank you district staff and spoil just for all your hard work in this. I know everybody they don't see the behind the scenes and how much work goes into this, but I I'm excited that we we had some wins and we're able to offer um you know, a more affordable plan to have our children on there, healthy children um and anybody who needs that and um yeah, it's a different we're thinking outside the box and that's just healthcare. It's a challenge as Miss Ready said, we everybody knows that. So um thank you. Appreciate you guys for all the hard work. >> Can I add something um to it? Um I want to um also just like thank our insurance committee. I know they have worked a lot on this. So so thank
095you to to that committee also both of our um negotiation negotiating teams that represent the district as well as um our our unions. Uh we we appreciate them. I think the the main message is that we really need our employees to be actively involved related to healthcare. It's so critical. Um, making sure that they're using the wellness center, using the emergency room appropriately, identifying a primary care and making sure we're going to the emergency room, it's an emergency. Um, asking questions and not, and Miss Ruddy talked about this a little bit, like not just picking a plan, but really asking questions, learning more about the plan. um because sometimes we pick something that is closer to what we may have, but maybe there's a better option for your family at this time. So, be actively
096involved um in that and then reach out to your benefits department within HR. You can start asking them questions now about this so that we can have a smooth transition. But we we really need our employees to be actively involved in this healthc care process because it's a conversation we will continue to have year overyear. So thank you to everyone who's been working working on this. >> Thanks. >> We are moving on to public comments. Anybody public comment? don't have problem. We'll go on to board member requests. Um I have two requests today. The first is um around algebra. So, algebra is a key course uh and is uh prerequisite to many of those programs that fall under our diploma plus and um it requires students take that course relatively earlier in their academic career.
097Uh but if we have students who uh maybe decide later that they're up for that academic challenge, it's very difficult to go back in time and uh kind of correct their um their progression in their in their studies to qualify. And I would like us to explore alternative on-ramps to getting that algebra um uh for students who may be decided after seventh or eighth grade uh in time for them to take part in those courses that may require it. For example, do we offer maybe a winter and a summer uh like uh type of supplement uh or can we connect them to some online instruction if they wish to take that on top of their studies in order to achieve that level and qualify for those programs? I just want to explore it, see what
098we can brainstorm. So what you're asking for is for us to bring to you um as a board what our process is right now as far as um students having access to course progression and then at that discussion >> right so how how are those students identified what if they're not recommended what if they decide later or become uh more equipped to handle those challenges later but want to grasp that opportunity to take those programs for example like IB uh that require you to take those at an earlier date. Um my second question uh is related to uh that inspiration around attending uh you know seminal uh county schools. I want to uh bring a highlight or just have some time to um present to the board what our current uh uh career exploration options
099are in terms of how do they how does that exploration uh fit into the elementary school? How do they expand on that in middle school? How do they then choose those programs in high school? How is the how is FTC married in? How do we determine what's in the FTC uh bucket versus what perhaps is part of our diploma plus programs in uh the high school and take a look at what are those diploma plus programs at each high school to ensure that we have a spectrum of offerings that are uh tangible to students on different academic uh pursuits or career interests and there's something there for every one of our students. If we could just highlight some of that to see if there's an opportunity for um some additional phase plans and uh partnerships
100that we can really dive into and get inspired to um to go after. Thank you. Any others? Okay, we'll move on to closing comments then. Um, I think I'll keep the mo most of my closing comments for this evening's meeting, but again, the insurance piece uh is a monster and um you you know uh again I we're really going to have to change our mindset and I need everybody to be open to that. Um and we're really going to lean in on human resources for that. um uh upskilling and change in terminology and change in behavior and if you have not been a part of our benefits package in the past because it has been unaffordable completely unaffordable right I think it was the number was $14,000 a year for a premium for a family
101um uh before the deductibles so take a look at them again there's been a lot of changes uh health the high deductible insurance now is more uh predictable with the dropping of that co- insurance. I I again would say that we're one of the few organizations that have been able to secure a decrease in premiums and we're not talking about a quarter, right? We're talking about large dollar amounts. Uh and this is I think uh hopefully going to turn the corner on the benefits packages that we provide, but it's really going to um take the full participation of all of our team members. And I'm here to hear from you and get feedback about this plan um as we are continuously looking for improvements. Thank you. >> Uh I'll just uh say mine for this
102evening. So, happy birthday, Mr. Furry. >> That was mine. >> Well, thank you. >> We appreciate him uh being here today. You know, your board members are committed for every day. So, um we hope you get a chance to celebrate later on and we'll see you all tonight. >> Happy 173rd day of school. >> Yes. I see you're smiling. You're like, "Oh, yeah. 173rd day of school." And we got we will see you guys tonight. Happy birthday. >> Thank you.