(September 11, 2014) JACKSON Tenn — Thursday’s Jackson-Madison County School Board was a combined special work session and board meeting
Items on the agenda included employee healthcare insurance. The group heard from their insurance consultant Mike Akrum with 5 Points Insurance Group. Akrum advised the board that due to changes in healthcare law the current system was financially unsustainable
A recommendation from the Insurance Committee preceeded the board vote to move ahead with changing the school system’s insurance options to ensure they meet affordable standards set by the Affordable Care Act. The board voted 7-1 (Campbell)
To be compliant with the Affordable Care Act, the school system will have to offer insurance to all employees who work 30 hours or more a week. The system must also ensure that the insurance is affordable for employees making just over $16,000 a year.
The new plan will allow the school system to save money on the whole plan because rates would be stabilized and the gap supplement would make the school system contribution go down.
The new insurance plan means that employees may have high deductibles and co-pay rates, but a gap insurance supplement will negate some of the higher deductibles.
A motion by Truman Murray on rescheduling comments by the Jackson-Madison County Education Association president from Thursday board meetings to the Monday work meetings. The motion failed by a 5-3 (Murray, Bratcher, Head).
The board elected 2014-15 board leaders chairman, vice-chairman, board parliamentarian and Tennessee Legislative Network representative.
Jim Campbell was re-elected board chairman. Joe Mays declined a nomination to be re-elected as vice-chairman, and Dave Bratcher was elected vice-chairman. Bob Alvey declined a nomination to be re-elected board parliamentarian, and Jeffrey Head was elected to the position. Alvey was elected to be the Tennessee Legislative Network representative. All votes were unanimous, and there was only one nomination for each position.
Superintendent Verna Ruffin’s discussed the technology implementation at Northeast Middle School.
According to Ruffin, the school system delayed the implementation to ensure teachers were equipped to best utilize the technology in the classrooms and to finalize technology policies.
Ruffin said the computers should be in the classrooms by the end of September.
