Alexandria City Public Schools staff are decrying the short notice given over an increase to their health insurance premiums, just a day before the month-long open enrollment period.
In an April 30 email, thousands of ACPS staff and retirees were told that health insurance premium rates will increase by 16% for UnitedHealthcare customers and by 8.9% for Kaiser Permanente customers, and that the changes will result in higher employee contributions. Employees who don’t go through the open enrollment process by 11:59 p.m. May 31 will lose their healthcare coverage.
Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt also unveiled her amended Combined Funds Fiscal Year 2027 Budget on Thursday night (May 7), and acknowledged the Board’s willingness to make tough decisions, including a 5% reduction in the school system’s contributions to health insurance premiums. She said it was challenging to find a number of cuts to accommodate a $5.6 million funding gap that City Council refused to fill in its FY2027 budget…