Top leaders asked to pay part of costs

Teachers and other employees will be asked for the same contribution.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- City school district administrators are being asked to set an example in cutting district expenses by picking up 10 percent of their hospitalization and prescription insurance costs.
At this point, Dr. Wendy Webb, superintendent, is the only district employee paying for a portion of health-care costs, having agreed to pick up 5 percent of the expense as a term of her employment.
That will increase to 10 percent under a proposal presented to the administrative staff. Treasurer Carolyn Funk said 72 of the district's top ranking administrators are being asked to pay the same. Funk is on that list.
The proposal would save the district nearly $83,000 a year, Funk told the board of education in a memo Tuesday.
Dire finances
Youngstown is projecting a $4 million budget deficit this year and expects it to grow to $11.9 million next year.
The district has already been placed under "fiscal watch" by the state and could be put into "fiscal emergency" before it recovers.
Funk's memo said 59 administrators are on the family plan and will be asked to pay $107 per month for that coverage. An additional 13 are on the single plan and are being asked to pay about $43 a month.
Funk said the proposal was developed from a board suggestion that administrators step forward and agree to share in their insurance costs.
"They knew this was coming," Webb said. "They received it well."
The change affects both hospitalization and prescription insurance. Dental and vision coverage will remain 100 percent paid by the district.
Funk's memo noted that the proposal is being made with the knowledge that the board currently has little to offer in return for the sacrifice it is seeking.
"However, it is the general consensus that we will not be able to move very far forward in passing a levy unless there is a clear and identifiable action on the part of the staff to 'save money'," the memo said.
Possible tax increases
Although a final decision hasn't been made, the board is looking at the possibility of placing two levies on the November election ballot as a way to end the fiscal crisis. One would be an emergency, five-year levy for 12 mills, which would raise about $6 million a year. The other would be a permanent improvement levy of 2.5 mills, which would generate about $1.25 million a year.
Funk's memo said the same insurance cost-sharing proposal asked of administrators will be presented to both the Youngstown Education Association and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees during negotiations with the unions.
Both are currently under one-year contract agreements that freeze base wages for next year. However, those employees working their way up the steps of a contract salary schedule will still get those step increases.
Funk has estimated that the district would save $1.2 million a year if every employee pays 10 percent of their healthcare cost.
Funk said she and Webb will meet with the administrators again July 6, providing them with information on similar actions taken in other school districts.
August will be the likely date to begin implementing the change here, she said.
Board member Lock P. Beachum Sr. asked if other cuts can be made to show the public that the district is reducing spending.
"I don't think we've done enough internally," he said.
The district is implementing a plan to cut $8.5 million in spending next year, primarily through the elimination of nearly 100 jobs.
Even with those cuts, the deficit is still expected to reach $11.9 million next year.
Webb said two more administrative posts have become vacant and won't be filled next year, adding to the spending reductions.
Funk said the district is still working on other issues, including searching for ways to trim transportation costs.
gwin@vindy.com