In discussion for months, new permanent pay raises for Ascension Parish public school employees will begin to roll out in late July, school officials said.
But in November, all district employees will also see those raises trimmed slightly by their first increase in health insurance premiums since 2016. The premium bump is $120 annually for active employees.
The districtwide raises, other focused pay increases and the health insurance changes come after the School Board adopted in several votes this month a new salary schedule, the health plan changes and a $318.1 million spending plan for the fiscal year beginning on July 1.
The salary bumps will take a month and a half to apply to all workers. By Sept. 15, 3,425 Ascension Parish public school employees are expected to get their share of the $8.1 million in across-the-board permanent raises for the system of 34 schools and more than 24,160 students.
Full-time teachers and other certificated staff would see a $1,750 salary boost. Support staff would receive a $1,500 increase.
The district has offered one-time raises over the past several years, often matching one-time state stipends, but the recurring raises for fiscal 2024-25 would be the first since the 2021-22 fiscal year.
The permanent district raises would come in addition to one-time $2,000 and $1,000 stipends for certified and support staff that the Legislature adopted in the most recent session.
Those state dollars haven't been incorporated yet into the new school budget, officials said earlier this week when the School Board adopted the new spending plan.
School officials expect their general fund spending, the vast majority of the budget, to be $4.7 million less than the fiscal year ending June 30. The general fund's $103 million one-time surplus is expected to remain flat for the new year, budget papers show.
Ascension school officials also often budget revenues conservatively to start the year and can see those numbers shift upward over time as actual revenues roll in, potentially adding to the surplus.
Earlier this month, the School Board also agreed to a series of changes to the health plan to close a $3.7 million shortfall due to $50.3 million in health expenses this year.
The deficit arose from an 11% increase in plan costs this fiscal year while more employees — about three-quarters in all — have shifted to the school system health plan with lower premiums, benefits consultant Len Fontaine told the board earlier this month.
Under the changes, which don't take effect until Nov. 1, active employees will pay $10 more per month. Retirees who are on the plan and still too young to receive Medicare will pay an additional $5 per month, according to school system papers.
Deductibles will go up $150 for the district's Plan 1 and $250 for the district's less expensive Plan 2. Coinsurance is also falling for Plan 2 and for out-of-network expenses in both plans. The shifts can cost users more, but are expected to have limited effect.
Fontaine called it "unheard of" for an entity the size of the Ascension school system not to have seen a health insurance rate increase over the past eight years.
The higher employee costs come in addition to other steps to close the health plan's financial gap, including pharmacy renegotiations to save dollars, a new program for diabetics and the board kicking in an additional $2.1 million to support employee premium revenues.
In recommending the plan changes earlier this month, School Board member John Murphy noted that the insurance increases for employees would be mitigated by then-expected state and district raises. He said the health plan was "getting to a point where it's time" to increase premiums after nearly a decade.
Jackie Tisdell, schools spokeswoman, said 12-month employees would see the district raises in checks going out July 25, while 10-month employees will have to wait until the checks that go out Aug. 25.
Nine-month employees will see school system raises in checks starting Sept. 15, she said.
In addition to the raises, the board also adopted a series of more-focused pay boosts and other adjustments to the salary schedule expected to cost an additional $5.8 million after a district consultant recommended them to keep up with other systems.
Under the new schedule, first-time teachers in Ascension would make more than $50,000 annually for the first time, starting at $50,533 per year.
The district also expects to spend another $2.1 million for staff at the new Prairieville High, which opens this fall, and $2.3 million to add 31 new teachers across the district to match the 400 to 500 additional students expected next school year.