[December 16, 2007]

School Board to vote on benefits: Session tomorrow on changes to supplemental retiree health-care plan

(Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Dec. 16--Making changes to retiree health benefits is more than a matter of dollars and cents.

For some Chesterfield County School Board members, it's about trust.

The board is scheduled to vote on changes to supplemental retiree benefits tomorrow night at its final work session of 2007.

The school system currently picks up the $153 monthly Medicare supplement for retirees 65 and over.

But as health-care costs rise, and in response to federal regulations that take effect in 2008 that require state and local governments to disclose the future cost of health care and other benefits, Chesterfield school officials have proposed a plan that could have some employees paying out of their own pockets for the supplement.

A plan presented to the School Board last Tuesday night provides $4 for every year of service in Chesterfield. It would affect retirees who turn 65 on or after Jan. 1, 2009, and who are eligible for the Medicare supplement. Under the plan, if retirees are already eligible for the $4 credit from the Virginia Retirement System, they would get a $2 county contribution.

That means someone who retires with 30 years of service in Chesterfield could get $180 toward the cost of their supplement with the VRS credit, or $120 each month if they're not. Bermuda District Representative Marshall W. Trammell Jr. said that for many years, Chesterfield school employees have not been paid as much as those in surrounding school systems. But they were told that the total compensation package -- salary, benefits and retiree benefits -- "will make up for it when you retire," he said.

Now that the board is considering changes to the plan that would hit future retirees' pockets, "in our minds, it breaks that trust," Trammell said. The

school system will lose its ability to attract and retain good teachers if that trust is gone and employees can get better compensation packages elsewhere, he said.

School officials said the board received additional scenarios after Tuesday's meeting.

Outgoing Midlothian District representative James Schroeder said the changes will be felt by current employees and retirees who aren't yet 65 -- "the very people that made this system outstanding."

He said he's frustrated that the school administration didn't come to the board sooner with this issue, such as last year when it approved changes to who could qualify for future retiree benefits and how much they'd receive in county and school contributions.

"It bothers me that now we are dealing with this crisis at the last hour," Schroeder said, referring to the federal regulations. "I don't like surprises of this nature."

He said he's not interesting in bankrupting the system, but in the interests of the employees, the board needs to at least consider other options to try to preserve the good compensation package the school system offers.

While the trend nationally is to be cutting back on benefits, "we're not other people," Schroeder said. "This is Chesterfield, and we have a different set of circumstances."

Contact Holly Prestidge at (804) 649-6945 or hprestidge@timesdispatch.com.

To see more of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.timesdispatch.com.

Copyright (c) 2007, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]

Discussions: