Orange County schools, teachers union agree to health insurance increase
Orange County Public Schools administrators struck a deal with the teacher’s union Tuesday that will result in teachers paying for some of their health care costs in exchange for pay raises.
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The deal largely mirrors the proposal laid out by the district last month when they announced the 9% increases. The district has said their insurance trust fund is running a deficit of millions of dollars and some of the funding needed to be shifted to the teachers.
The average teacher will pay a premium ranging from $20-32 per paycheck under the plan.
As a concession to the union, the district will cover 50% of the insurance costs for the first year, in addition to its normal contribution. It will cost the district $4.4 million.
Read: Orange County teachers offered ‘historic’ 9% salary increase
The union had argued teachers wouldn’t be able to afford the insurance increases, and the pay raise didn’t cover the loss of purchasing power teachers had experienced since 2018.
“By you all coming together and finding a way to compromise and to collaborate, I’m hoping that’s the beginning of how we work together moving forward,” OCPS Chairwoman Teresa Jacobs said.
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