Teachers in the Lubbock Independent School District, one of the city’s largest employers, will pay more for health insurance next year, following a school board vote Thursday.
The Lubbock Independent School District Board of Trustees voted to approve employee premiums for the district’s self-funded health plan for the next school year. All premiums will increase in January. Under the original proposal, premiums would have been more than double the current cost in some cases, but the board opted to spread the increases over two years.
School officials said the district’s budget is tight and the increase is necessary to avoid other budget cuts, but teachers who spoke to the board at Thursday’s meeting said their own budgets are also tight.
“As a teacher, I live paycheck to paycheck and this premium increase is going to cost my family $425 a month,” said teacher Brenda Alden. “I just ask everyone to find money under the couch or wherever they can to help us out because this is so hard for teachers.”
“I’m too fat to be a stripper, too old, my knees wouldn’t be able to handle the insurance and I don’t think I’ll be able to get another job,” she said.
The Lubbock Independent School District in June passed a 2024-25 budget with an $8.6 million deficit, which board members said was because the state Legislature did not increase funding to address rising operating costs. The district has also seen an increase in “catastrophe claims” — expensive insurance claims for serious illnesses or medical emergencies — which has led to the increase, administrators said.
“Last year, we had over $4 million in unexpected catastrophe claims, and currently, claims through June are at $3.1 million,” said Lisa Thompson, LISD’s executive director of risk management. “If we left the plan as is, we would be left with a deficit of over $6.993 million, taking into account our contributions, employees’ current contributions and fixed costs.”
Teachers and former teachers petitioned the board during the public comment period not to raise premiums, and Lauren Smith, president of the Lubbock Association of Educators, said more than 75 percent of her members surveyed would not buy health insurance if the premium increase went into effect.
“There is no way that employees should be able to afford a premium increase of $55 to $425 per month,” Smith said. “It’s very disappointing that the board thinks it’s OK to pass on these increases to employees.”
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Board member Lara Chavez said she has heard from staff members who are considering leaving to help cover rising health care costs.
“Because of the horrible bills that we’ve had, they feel like they’ve been punished for that,” Chavez said. “I’ve heard a lot of their stories, some from Monterey High School, some from Lubbock High School. They’re ready to retire, they can retire. They chose to stay, but they said it would be better if they retired.”
Board Vice Chairman Ryan Curry, who proposed a compromise to spread the premium increases over two years, said the district has done all it can to ease the burden on employees.
“I don’t blame people for being upset. Nobody wants to pay more for anything, and we work hard,” Curry said. “I can say on behalf of everybody here and the gentlemen who aren’t here that nobody wants to raise the prices of anything haphazardly.”
“We’ve been putting the people first for years and years,” Curry said later. “We’ve run out of money. We’re not getting any money. We’ve minimized everything we can.”
Board member Nancy Sharp said the blame lies entirely with the Texas Legislature, which has not increased major funding for public schools since 2019.
“We’re already in the red because the state hasn’t provided us with enough funding,” Sharp said, “and I think funding our core mission, which is teaching and learning, is where we should focus and do our best. And then, if by some miracle the Legislature decides to give us more funding, we can try to do some things differently in the future.”
Sharp and Thompson also noted that Lubbock Independent School District’s premiums are among the lowest compared to neighboring school districts and the Teachers Retirement System’s coverage.
“Especially for employees with children, the basic HMO plan pays $250 a month, the wellness credit is $200, and it’s an easily achievable credit within the guidelines,” Thompson said. “(In another district) it’s $557.11, in another district it’s $501, and with TRS-ActiveCare it’s $760.”
The approval of the new health insurance rates passed by a vote of 6 to 0. Jason Ratliff, the board’s executive director, was not at Thursday’s meeting.
