Group wants MVSD to tap into reserve funds

The Central Idaho Education Association wants the Mountain View School District to spend some of its reserve funds rather than cut 70 percent share of district-paid family health insurance and rerun the levy next March.

The education association is inviting parents and community members to join a rally from 4:30-5:30 p.m. today at the Mountain View School District Office. The group encourages all who show up to practice social distancing.

The Mountain View School District is proposing to cut the 70 percent share of district-paid family health insurance to 0 percent while keeping more than $2.5 million in savings, according to a news release issued Sunday from the Central Idaho Education Association.

“Our district is losing great staff every day because they feel attacked and unsupported by the district,” Kim Fales, a CIEA member and Grangeville Elementary Middle School teacher, said.

The CIEA said staff cannot afford to remain with the district.

“My family will lose an additional 21 percent of my income next year if I have to pay 100 percent for dependent coverage,” GEMS teacher Jessica Robinson said. “My family can’t afford this, but they also can’t afford to be uninsured.”

According to the CIEA, some support staff would owe the district money at the end of the month to cover the cost of health insurance.

“We do have a few support staff whose hourly salary total per month will not meet the cost of paying for 100 percent of the premium to cover a family under the current plan the district offers,” Fales said.

“The board of trustees seems to believe that our May 2020 levy failed because the community does not want the teachers to have health insurance for their families,” Bea Edwards, a GEMS teacher who recently resigned. “The reality is there are numerous reasons for the failure. The bottom line is that our communities support their educators, but lack confidence in the school board’s decision making on how to manage the use of these public funds.”

“At some point the school board has to understand that the working conditions of our staff is the learning environment of our kids,” the news release said.