Dispute centers on insurance coverage

NEWMAN – School trustees Monday rejected a claim from a former board member seeking more than $16,000 in reimbursement for out-of-pocket insurance coverage costs she contends would not have been incurred had the school district followed the letter of its board member compensation policy.

Under the terms of the board policy in place, Christa Burgin said, she should have been offered the full family insurance coverage equal to that offered to district administrators.

But the practice followed by the district was to limit board member insurance coverage to the $5,100-a-year cap offered to teachers.

The discrepancy came to light during her final meeting on the board, Burgin commented Monday.

“This is money I paid out for medical coverage that I should not have had to pay out if the policy had been followed,” said Burgin, who served on the school board from January 2006 to December 2007. “Those were costs I incurred because the policy was not implemented.”

Superintendent Rick Fauss conceded that there was a discrepancy between the policy and practice when it came to the board member insurance coverage.

The dispute, he said, now centers on the amount due Burgin.

“She is entitled to some compensation. No one has argued that at all,” Fauss said. “We are saying it is a little over $6,000.”

According to district records, Burgin took the district-paid insurance for about a year.

She was insured through her employer during part of her time on the board, Burgin said, paying for coverage that she would have received at no expense had the district been following the policy that was on the books.

Fauss said the board compensation policy at one point entitled trustees to receive district-paid insurance benefits equal to the top package offered any employee group in the district. The district’s administrators are offered family insurance coverage worth more than $16,000 a year.

That policy has since been changed to offer board members insurance coverage equal to that received by teachers, bringing the policy in line with the practice.

Board members choose between the insurance coverage and a $240 monthly stipend.

Burgin’s claim was rejected by a 4-1 vote, with Derek Solano dissenting.

Fauss said the matter will now be turned over to the claims administrator for the district’s insurance provider.