The York County School Board will hold a regular meeting tonight, where they will listen to public comments regarding potential cuts of almost $1.8 million from their proposed 2014 budget, which include a change to a cheaper healthcare plan and the elimination of six teaching positions.
The board has not voted to approve any specific changes—they won’t do that until at least Wednesday. The need for the cuts comes after the York County Board of Supervisors voted to approve $1.17 million in additional funding for the schools, instead of the $2.9 million that was requested. This leaves the school board in the position of needing to reduce spending, which is not a new approach for either the board or the administration tasked with running the school division.
The cheaper healthcare plan is the one used by county employees. The school board was in agreement at a May 15 meeting that increasing employee premium costs was not an option, so switching to the county’s plan was one way it could reduce costs without premium increases.
The York County plan would increase drug prescription co-pays by $5 to $10 depending on whether the drug was generic, brand name or patented brand name. The plan would also increase maximum out-of-pocket expenses for hospital stays from $250 to $200 per day for up to $1,000.
The Virginia Retirement System requires employees of localities and school divisions to contribute 5 percent of their salary to retirement plans. That hit is offset by a 5 percent salary increase from their employers. When the mandate was handed down, localities were able to choose between a 5 percent raise all at once, or implementing 1 or more percent of the increase over time. The York County School Division has funded 1 percent, though it wanted to do more. You can read about how last year, York County funded the full 5 percent for its employees while the school division was only able to do a 1 percent raise by clicking here.
Another measure included in the cost-cutting proposal are passing employees their share of dental costs, which would save $20,000.
You can read more about the May 15 meeting, where consensus was reached on how to cut the near $1.8 million from the budget, by clicking here.
Monday’s meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in York Hall and is open to the public.
