How much should teachers pay for health insurance?

To the editor: Currently, teachers in the Florida school district pay 6 percent of their health insurance premium, which equates to about $50 a month for an individual plan and about $100 a month for a family plan. This year, participating teachers contributed approximately $69,000 towards their premiums, while the district paid the rest, which amounted to over 1.5 million dollars. The health insurance the district provides represents almost 20 percent of the district’s operating budget. With escalating health care costs, it will soon be 25 percent. Of the money the Florida district receives from local property owners, 80 percent comes from homeowners and 20 percent comes from commercial property owners. Contrast that to the Goshen School District which receives 62 percent from homeowners, but 38 percent from commercial property owners. The funding from the additional 18 percent of commercial property owners is significant: It means that property taxes rates are 33 percent lower for homeowners in the town of Goshen, despite their school budget being more than three times greater than Florida’s. The district is currently negotiating with the teachers’ union about their next contract. Could it be time for teachers to pay more of their health insurance costs? Consider that teachers pay less than what some senior citizens pay for their Medicare. Also consider that New York State will soon have to pay the New York City school system another 15 billion dollars in program and facilities funding. There will be no significant increase in the amount of aid upstate schools receive from the state. All we can do is control the costs the best that we can. While the Florida district has done a pretty good job of that, they haven’t tackled this issue in the past. When the teachers are under contract, benefits are a fixed cost. With the new teachers’ contract, however, the Florida school district has an opportunity to help itself. If the Florida teachers paid 18 percent of the premium, that would give the district another $140,000 to put toward other budgetary needs in an already tight budget. The increase could be done over a three-year period, raising the percentage 4 percent each year. Of course, effective teachers are an asset for any school and the role they have in our society is a vital one, that’s not in dispute. The teachers’ union will respond by saying that having them contribute more towards their health insurance would adversely affect the district’s ability to attract and retain effective teachers. While that may be true in the short run, in the long run, this problem will one day have to be addressed all across New York State with the obvious answer. No one likes to pay more for their health insurance, but paying 18 percent of the premium is certainly significantly better than paying 100 percent of the premium. Let’s hope the district negotiator and school board don’t ignore the fiscal reality of our district and state. Blaine Alvarez-Backus Florida