· What is the Suburban Health Consortium?
o The Suburban Health Consortium (SHC) is a shared-risk pool for insurance that currently consists of 14 member school districts. It allows these districts to receive significant savings on insurance premiums.
· What school districts participate in SHC?
o Bay Village, Brecksville-Broadview Heights, Brunswick, Cuyahoga Heights, Cuyahoga Valley Career Center, Garfield Heights, Independence, Lakewood, North Royalton, Orange, Polaris, South Euclid-Lyndhurst, Warrensville Heights, Westlake
· Has Strongsville City School District applied for membership?
o No
· Is there an application fee?
o Yes. There is a one-time, $2,500 to $3,000 application fee.
· Is there a guarantee that Strongsville City School District would be granted membership if they apply?
o No
· What would Strongsville gain from membership in SHC?
o It is estimated that membership in SHC could save as much as $6,000 per year per insured employee. With over 400 teachers, savings could be over $2 million per year.
· Are there any other costs associated with membership?
o Yes. There is a one-time fee of $3,000 per teacher if Strongsville is accepted as a member. Given the likely savings, this fee could be paid by savings from the first year alone, with Strongsville then saving millions per year thereafter.
· What does Strongsville stand to lose if it applies and is not accepted for membership?
o Only its $2,500 to $3,000 application fee.
With the potential of saving millions per year every year, and the only risk being losing no more than 3 thousand dollars, we do not understand why our leadership is so resistant to the idea of application to SHC. The Treasurer claims his analysis of shows him that we would be rejected by SHC if we applied for membership. We know all too well, though, that our Treasurer often has his numbers wrong. It seems inconceivable that, due to the risk of losing 3 thousand dollars, he would choose to flush our chance at saving millions per year down the toilet.
Perhaps the Board could have directed some of the $215,721.00 spent since the start of 2009 on lawyer fees for negotiations during months when zero negotiations sessions with SEA were held. We could have applied for membership 71 times with that wasted money.
If you are looking for answers, please contact the Superintendent's office at 572-7000, email the Superintendent at lampert@strongnet.org, or get involved in your school district decision making process by attending the next Board Meeting, Thursday, Nov. 4th, at 7pm, at the Administration Building, Room 104.
If you are looking for answers, please contact the Superintendent's office at 572-7000, email the Superintendent at lampert@strongnet.org, or get involved in your school district decision making process by attending the next Board Meeting, Thursday, Nov. 4th, at 7pm, at the Administration Building, Room 104.
