Finance Committee Minutes

Finance Committee Minutes April 12, 2016

Committee chairperson, Victor Frangopoulos, called the meeting to order at 7:34 A.M. Also present at the meeting were Craig Vento, Cindy Bubolz, Rachel Landis, Mikki Retic, Ann Smith, and Jeff Weiss. Cindy Bubolz, Rachel Landis, and Mikki Retic left the meeting at 7:51. Jeff indicated that the meeting was properly posted. The two items for discussion were an update on budget development and the CESA contract for 2016-2017.

Ann and Jeff provided an update on the budget development process. Although it is still very early in the process, there are developments with health insurance that will positively impact the budget. Richmond is a member of the Waukesha County Area Schools Health Insurance Purchasing Cooperative. Due to higher than anticipated premium renewals from United Health Care (UHC), the cooperative voted to go out to bid to change insurance carriers. Four companies replied to the cooperative’s request for proposals. Based on pricing and healthcare network, two companies were selected as finalists: WEA Trust and UHC. The final proposal from UHC was $1.4 million more than WEA Trust’s proposal for the cooperative as a whole. For Richmond, there will be a $3 cumulative increase for the 2016-2017 school year. The plans are basically identical with a difference being that WEA Trust counts deductibles toward Emergency Room or Urgent Care appointments. The cooperative voted unanimously in favor of switching health care insurance to WEA Trust. Since Richmond is a member of the Waukesha County Area Schools Health Insurance Purchasing Cooperative, the only action required to is for the board to approve the updates to the cooperative agreement that were updated by WASB. This is the second year in a row in which the District will see no increase in health insurance premiums.

Other significant budget items discussed include the reduction of 1 teaching position through attrition due to declining enrollment, reduction in post-employment benefits as several retirees complete the fifth year of their benefit period, and the end of the WILA contract. Additional funds will be allocated for FMLA in the upcoming budget, as well.

The other agenda item was the CESA contract. For the 2016-2017 contract, there will be additional $1850 for membership in the Southeastern Wisconsin Personalized Learning Network. Although the total contract for CESA services is less than $5000 and does not meet the threshold for board approved expenditures, the board is required to approve the District’s arrangement with CESA. The CESA contract will be brought forward to the April board meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 8:24 A.M.

Respectfully submitted by Jeff Weiss