The Sedalia School District 200 Board of Education voted Monday, Apr. 13 to retain Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City as the district’s health insurance provider, even as the district is looking at a 16-percent jump in premiums.

The board received an update from assistant superintendent Jason Curry at their monthly meeting, where Curry warned that the current increases in costs were not sustainable for the district’s current cost-plus model. Supt. Dr Todd Fraley says the initial premium increase was even higher, but options from other providers were not any better.
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Fraley notes that while the district can use some of their insurance reserves to cover potential cost overruns from claims, reducing the district’s increase to expenses by about seven percent. He adds that while the district is able to continue covering 100 percent of employee coverage this year, some benefits were adjusted.

Also Monday night, the board approved a change order with Timekey Glazing adding $11,682 to the cost of the project to replace windows at Smith-Cotton Junior High and Horace Mann Elementary. The board also accepted bids for custodial products, copy paper, and HVAC filters for the next school year.

During the reorganization portion of the meeting, the board thanked Scott Gardner for 21 years of service, and accepted a one-thousand dollar donation made anonymously in Gardner’s honor that will be awarded as a scholarship to a graduating senior. The board then welcomed Eric Homan into their ranks. As part of the reorganization, Diana Nichols was re-appointed as president, Sam Kempton as vice president, Pam Moon as treasurer, and Barbara Schrader as secretary.