LETTERS

Published: Thursday, October 4, 2007 5:46 PM EDT
 Health plan approval showed disregard for taxpayers

To the Editor:

Do you ever shop around for insurance for your home or car just to be sure you are getting the best rate? After doing so, do you typically decide to go with the highest bidder?

I doubt it, but that is just what the Worthington School District decided to do at last Monday's school board meeting.

It's not that they didn't take the time to get comparable quotes for the employee health insurance plan. In fact, they have an insurance committee of district employees who worked for months to gather the information before advising the board to approve the highest bidder for health insurance.

Who in the world picks the highest bid out there for similar coverage? Only someone who is not spending his own money. Such is the case here, where neither the insurance committee, nor the school board, are spending their own money.

Surprisingly, it appears that only one board member, Marc Schare, even raised any questions about the committee's unusual advice to spend an extra $450,000 this year by selecting the highest bidder. And while he suggested further study by the board, he had to accept that the timing of the committee's recommendation allowed no opportunity to delay the vote.

Thus, the board has granted the request of the district employees -- who fill every seat on the insurance committee-while ignoring the interests of the students and taxpayers, who have no seats on the insurance committee.

And while this questionable decision is now history, keep this example in mind as you vote on two new school board members in November. Watch and listen closely to what they say and do.

Will Worthington elect board members who will aggressively represent the interests of our students and residents, or candidates who will favor individuals who are already very well represented by their union?

It does matter, because the best interests of the students and the residents of Worthington deserve to be represented, don't they?

Jill Alfred
Board approval of 'Cadillac' health care plan a mistake

To the Editor:

I am writing in response to the article "Health plan fires up board member," from the Sept. 26 edition of the Worthington News. I think school board member Marc Schare is exactly with his statements in this article. It is unbelievable to me that the school board can approve a near 30 percent increase in the cost of health insurance for the employees of the district while the cost paid by the employees themselves is such a tiny amount. It seems to me that there are two starting points to reduce the cost for the district. First, have the employees pay a larger percentage of the premium cost -- especially the family premium.

Second, switch to the another health insurance company that can provide similar coverage at a lower premium cost. My family is fortunate enough to have wonderful health insurance benefits through an employer. We pay more than $300 per month for these benefits; that is the employee share of the cost. Why on earth should the Worthington taxpayers subsidize, at such a high rate, the cost of health insurance for the employees of the district?

The employees of the district deserve to have high quality health insurance available for their purchase. However, it is unrealistic and insulting to taxpayers to ask us to absorb the rising cost of the health insurance while the employees pay so little. There is no way that this taxpayer would ever vote for a future levy that is meant to continue to fund the rising cost of health insurance so that the employees can continue to pay such a small amount. The employees need to pay their fair share.

In the last few weeks Attorney General Marc Dann has made two opinions that have impacted the bottom line for the district. The school district is no longer permitted to collect tuition money for the students attending the Metro High School or for the children attending all day kindergarten. The loss of the kindergarten tuition money could cost the district over $500,000. It seems to me that the school board members made a poor choice in approving the contract renewal with UnitedHealthcare when at the same time they knew of the tuition collection change.

Laura Peveler