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Youngstown schools retirees pay more for insurance, ask why
YOUNGSTOWN
A retired president of the nonteaching employees’ union of Youngstown schools wants to know why life insurance premiums rose 165 percent this year for retirees.
George Phillips told the school board at its Tuesday meeting that AFSCME retirees had been paying $205 a year for an insurance policy of $10,000 they were buying themselves.
They were able to pay such a low premium for the last 20 years, he said, because the union had negotiated for them to be enrolled in a group with the active employees.
But this year, their premiums rose to $546, half of which is due by May 1.
“This is devastating to them,” Phillips told the board.
“A lot of them are 80, 90 years old,” he said, adding that they’re worried about funeral expenses.
“We’d like to have some answers,” Phillips said. “It seems like the insurance companies are trying to drive out the retirees from the life insurance polices.”
“We want to know how many retirees are in the program,” he told the board, “and their ages, and the cost per thousand of life-insurance per retiree and for the active employees, and if you did or did not separate those two groups.”
The question of whether the retirees were kept in the group with the active employees is particularly important,” Phillips told The Vindicator later.
“I don’t think whoever was negotiating put enough pressure on the insurance company to try to keep our costs down,” he said.
Phillips said assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Karen Green offered to set up a meeting with him, which board President Brenda Kimble also said she would attend.
Phillips is not the only one asking for answers from the board. One of its own members, Jackie Adair, made a public address to complain that she is being slighted during meetings.
“We have some males on the board allowed to make presentations, and females — me — not allowed the same options,” she said.
“I, like the rest of you, was elected by the people of Youngstown” she continued, speaking from the podium instead of her board seat.
“We are to be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order, not by someone’s personal feelings,” she said.
“As a female and minority on the board, I emphasize this point: Don’t enter into debate, don’t refuse to recognize someone just because you don’t want someone to be heard. The air of partiality must be cleared.”
“No one’s opinion should be stifled,” she continued, because of the “presiding officer” or other members of the board.
“I want answers to some of my questions by the next board meeting,” she said.
Kimble said she has the right to structure her meetings and believes she has been fair to “everyone on this board.”
“Anyone wishing to can send things forward for an agenda review,” she said.
“I will continue to run these meetings in a structure that will continue to move forward with the business of the board,” Kimble said.
The board also voted unanimously to start school earlier beginning this year.
School will begin Aug. 24.
The reason, said Green, is so that teachers and students can prepare for state literacy and math and science and social-studies tests.