Another negotiation meeting set for teachers, MSBSD

Ahead of the Matanuska Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD) School Board meeting on Wednesday, in which another expected show of support for the Mat-Su Education Association (MSEA) and Mat-Su Classified Employees Association (Mat-Su CEA), even though contract negotiations are not on the agenda, negotiations on May 31 failed to produce any changes.

The MSBSD School Board voted to impose their last best offer during the previous School Board meeting.

“The short answer is that no progress was made at that meeting. However, we have agreed to invite the mediator back on July 5th,” said Mat-Su CEA President Rick Morgan.

The major sticking point has been the change to a new health insurance provider. Currently, school district employees access the Public Education Health Trust (PEHT). Under the new contract, Premera would become the new provider, a decision that is not setting well with employees, nor Vicki Hewitt, President of the MSEA, who expressed unhappiness at the date set for the next meeting.

“Unfortunately, this will happen after July 1st, when we will be forced out of the Public Education Health Trust. The speed with which we are being removed from PEHT is unnecessary and is devastating for people who had surgeries scheduled for this summer, medications that will no longer be covered, doctors that will no longer be on the preferred list, children who will have to go through the painful process of having to requalify for their needed drugs, and many other issues.”

Many teachers and employees have testified at previous school board meetings asking for the school board to keep their current health insurance.

“We requested to postpone implementation until July 1 of 2024 so that people can figure out what to do in order to adjust to this situation, but it has fallen on deaf ears from both from the District and the School Board.”

Hewitt said that she intends to again request a delay for at least December 31st at Wednesday’s MSBSD School Board meeting.

“Making employees move when people have not had time to complete surgeries, nor find other means of accommodation for what will not be available from the new provider, borders on inhumane,” she said.

Heather Asselin, a mother and veteran with an “unwavering disability advocate,” who also served as ABA preschool teacher, resource room teacher in grades 1 through 5, and Waldorf Teacher at Birchtree Charter School, spoke out at a previous meeting about the impact of changing the health insurance:

“I stand before you today with an unyielding sense of urgency and unwavering conviction to oppose the implementation of the high deductible insurance plan for esteemed educators. The consequences of such a decision could have devastating effects on the lives and well-being and livelihood of those who serve as the backbone of our education system.”

She warned that the district not be drawn in by the numbers associated with their proposed insurance provider, before speaking of her own health issues and subsequent required surgery that she scheduled around a Thanksgiving holiday to have the least impact on her students.

She also acknowledged that living in Alaska means dealing with exorbitant costs of healthcare needs, limited number of specialists and painfully long waitlists to see those specialists.

“Without the comprehensive coverage provided by our current healthcare plan, my family would have been left with insurmountable debt and would have been forced to seek long term care outside the state, and would not be here today. Thanks to the support of the current healthcare insurance, I was able to get the healthcare that I need and was able to return to school.”

However, the MSBSD has stood firm with their desire to change the health insurance provider, stating that the current contract proposal would reduce employee health insurance premiums for FY 24 by as much as $11,800, and guarantees no increase to employee health insurance premiums in FY 2025, as well as provides $8,500 in health savings account contributions for eligible employees.

Last month, the MSEA overwhelming voted over 90% to authorize a strike in the MSBSD. Over 96% of bargaining unit members participated in the strike authorization vote. If it comes to a strike, it is likely to begin after the start of the 2023-24 school year.