The Dublin ISD School Board unanimously voted to terminate the district’s participation in the Region 14 Employee Benefits Cooperative, seeking to resolve numerous insurance issues DISD employees have had with the EBC.
“It’s been a nightmare and a headache for our staff,” said DISD Superintendent Melissa Summers.
It’s also a battle the district has been fighting for most of the year.
After numerous frustrated phone calls and problems, the Dublin ISD School Board authorized Underwood Law Firm to file a lawsuit on its behalf against U.S. Employee Benefits Services Group in the November 2022 meeting.
Summers reported in that meeting an employee went to a doctor on Sept. 14 (after the plan started on Sept. 1) and was told the physician wasn’t in network. Business Manager Kassi Eads had researched the healthcare choices thoroughly before selecting the plan to ensure the maximum number of local healthcare providers would be covered.
She made a disturbing discovery.
“They switched plan designs,” Eads said previously. “It’s not a PPO, it’s a managed care plan.”
“We would never put that burden on our staff,” Summers said at the November meeting.
The superintendent said after multiple meetings and phone call after phone call, the company was not solving the problem prompting the board to authorize the suit, a move which was met with applause by the staff present at the November meeting.
Monday’s vote ends this ordeal and Eads reported a committee was formed in choosing the best insurance provider, which had been narrowed to two as of Monday night.
The Monday, May 15 meeting began with the canvassing of votes and the installation of the recently elected school board members Blanca Martineau and Ryan Mitchell.
After they took their oath of office, the board voted on the reorganization of officers.
Pat Leatherwood moved to vote by acclamation to keep the current officers of President Bob Cervetto, Vice President Raymond Salinas and Secretary Anjelica Salyer. Martineau quickly seconded the motion.
James Moore asked about voting for the officers one at a time to which Cervetto said the board could vote either way. With the motion and second presented, Cervetto called for a vote to keep all officers in one vote. The vote carried with Moore and Mitchell against.
Summers cited in the report agenda that 56 DHS students had earned a total of 735 dual credit hours (of which the district pays half the tuition) and a total of 1,362.50 community service hours were logged.
Theboardalsounanimously voted to recognize the following students who earned enough credit hours to earn an associate’s degree: Madilyn Loper, Ayush Patel and Joli St. Germain.
The report agenda also included the audit report from the Texas State School Safety Center. Summers reported the audit indicated the district was in a good place with a few small recommendations for items like installing extra signs which will be placed. She also said the district has some more security improvements planned to ensure the safety of staff and students.
The meeting also included the recognition of students, staff and retirees. See Page B8 for those honors.