Note: The Skyline Post reached out to district officials for comment and is still waiting for response. This story will be updated to incorporate any forthcoming replies.
“There are three or four different types of insurance that teachers have currently,” says English teacher Carina Sietz. “Mine will go up 100%.”
In 2023, students, staff, and parents were blindsided and shocked when Ann Arbor Public Schools announced a 25 million dollar deficit. Teachers were laid off and transferred, starting the “Support Ann Arbor Teachers” movement.
After getting through a hard and confusing year, teachers had hopes of improvement because the layoffs were based on budget estimates that included a raise, a salary step increase, and better pay during the years to come. However, entering the 2024 school year, during a staff meeting, AAPS union members were told by the union that health insurance costs would rise across the district, with amounts varying based on which union they belong to: teachers, administrators, central office, or paraprofessionals.
Currently, paraprofessionals and central office are paying a little less than $100 per paycheck; in fact, according to math teacher Megan Stark, their health insurance for the entire year is capped at $1000. Teachers and school administrators however pay close to $10,000 for the entire year, making the price raise especially hard for teachers and school-based administrators.
The cost of living has gone up for everyone, everywhere, and according to WTW’s Global Medical Trends Survey, the cost of medical care benefits in the U.S. is projected to increase about 8.9 percent in 2024, in comparison to the 8.2 percent in 2023.
For AAPS teachers however, paychecks and salaries don’t reflect the cost of living increase, which, according to Ann Arbor Educators union, will make it even harder to “keep us here” (AAEA union slogan). Essentially, it’s a pay cut for the staff. The amount of out of pocket money the teachers must come up with takes a large toll on their paychecks.
“I have two children, one of whom has to see a cardiologist once a year,” says Sietz. “Right now, out of pocket, I’m paying about $7000 for his medication. Next year that could be double.”
According to Skyline High School principal, Casey Elmore, the insurance company that has assisted AAPS with their healthcare coverage has recently deemed the district as high risk due to the high cost of insurance claims from the staff. Elmore stated that 98 AAPS staff member claims exceeded $50,000, almost three times as many claims filed in 2023. Companies have either quoted the district higher, or refused to entertain the conversation about insurance coverage.
“Mathematically they are doubling our insurance premiums,” says Stark. “They said that the premiums were only going up about 17% but in reality my out-of-pocket cost [would be] almost 104% more than what it is now.”
While many blame the district officials for the healthcare price increase, Elmore stated there is not much they can do due to Public Act 152 limiting how much the district and employers can contribute to the employees and staff healthcare plans and benefits.
“My understanding is that the law says that districts are only allowed to cover a certain percentage of the insurance premiums for the employees,” says Elmore. “That’s the reason why the district is only able to contribute a little bit more towards the insurance premiums even though there’s such a significant increase.”
Originally, the healthcare providers had given district and union members three options of new plans. Through union bargaining and meetings, another three options have been opened up. Union members now have six options to choose from in regards to their healthcare plans. The three additional plans show room for negotiation among the board and district.
“It’s all negotiable, but until that cost-sharing formula changes, this will negatively impact the staff going forward,” says AAEA Union head Fred Klein. “We are hopeful that we can bargain changes to the current way the district pays for healthcare premiums.”
Based on their number of family members, total income, and health needs, union members will need to choose their new insurance plan. According to English teacher and union representative Christopher Cole, there are “lower monthly cost[s] but there’s higher costs for like deductibles and things like medication.”
The insurance raise is set to take place in January of 2025. AAPS has faced and gotten through much adversity during the past year, and looks like it will continue to need to do so in the years to come.
