The school board voted to adopt proposed district health-plan changes and the proposed 2026 plan-year premiums after a staff presentation and discussion at the meeting. Board President David Dores called the item and the motion passed by voice vote.

Board members heard a detailed presentation from staff about two proposed plan designs and recent trends in the district’s premiums and claims. “We showed them a full presentation of data, other school districts in comparison to premium rates, our trends here over the last couple years and the proposed two plan designs,” said Mr. Garza, the staff presenter. He said campus committee representatives had reviewed the proposals during a meeting last week.

The presentation emphasized changes intended to manage rising health-care costs and to offer an alternate plan design. Mr. Garza described the alternate as an HMO-style option that “is basically to organize and direct care in a better scenario, better situation” by directing care through a primary care provider (PCP) and appropriate specialists. He said the current plan design allows members to see specialists without PCP referral and that routine use of a PCP would leave an employee’s care unchanged under the proposed HMO option.

Mr. Garza also told the board the district had enriched its plan since 2018 and had implemented premium reductions twice in the last six years. He said the district will provide outreach materials to employees, including highlight sheets and FAQs in English and Spanish, and will use campus representatives and auxiliary departments to educate staff. “We’re going to have a link on our website that’s going to show them the two different plan designs,” he said. He added the district had prepared documents and planned an open-enrollment meeting for the open enrollers to explain the differences between the two designs.

Board members asked about campus-level review and rollout. One board member asked, “Did the campus committee have the opportunity to review the plan?” Mr. Garza responded that the campus committee had been shown the proposed changes and data and had focused on the district’s comparatively low contribution levels. In response to a question about timing, Mr. Garza said the rollout would begin “as soon as we get an approval tonight.”

Discussion versus decision: the board’s action was a formal approval of the proposed health-plan changes and proposed premiums for the 2026 plan year. Direction to staff included expanded employee education (campus reps, auxiliary departments), publication of highlight sheets and FAQs in English and Spanish, and an open-enrollment meeting for staff who assist employees with enrollment choices.

The board did not identify a statutory requirement for the change during the discussion; the meeting’s agenda posting was certified as compliant with the Texas Open Meetings Act earlier in the session. The record shows the board approved the item by voice vote; individual vote tallies and mover/second names were not recorded in the transcript.