Humboldt Unified board approves switch to Asbate insurance after staff push; vote 4-1

The Humboldt Unified School District governing board voted to approve Asbate (Aetna network) as the district's health insurance provider for the 2025-26 fiscal year, with the motion passing on a 4-1 vote.

Board President Wolcott moved to approve the change and Board Member Sprague seconded the motion. Board members Maison and Anurvek voted in favor; Board Member Dillinger (also recorded in the meeting as Dellinger) voted no. The board carried the motion and President Wolcott closed the item after calling the vote.

The vote followed more than an hour of public comments and board discussion about the process, timeline and trade-offs between network coverage and district savings. Several district employees told the board they felt the timetable for deciding a new insurance provider was too short and that the board should have given staff more time and information before voting. "We felt very unheard," said Diane Brenco, who identified herself as a district employee, during public participation. "87% of the staff wanted to switch to Aetna," she said, adding that many employees worried about access to local providers under UnitedHealthcare.

Superintendent Dr. Griffin and staff defended the selection process and presented budget context. Dr. Griffin said the district faced a projected downward budget adjustment of about $1.6 million to $1.8 million and that an unexpected insurance-rate increase from the district's current program had forced an additional $800,000 in cuts to balance the budget. She said Asbate provided the lowest guaranteed rates for two years and that switching would save the district approximately $640,000 compared with remaining with the current carrier.

"Our job as the administration team is to bring you our recommendation," Griffin said, describing the yearly insurance-shopping process and the district's meet-and-confer review with employee representatives. Mr. Tannehill, an administrative staff member who led the insurance review, said the earliest "actionable numbers" arrived in early March and that a snow cancellation of a March 13 meeting compressed the timeline.

Employees and board members disputed how to interpret the survey and petition results. Administration said a district survey produced 216 verified responses and that about 87% of respondents favored switching. Several public commenters questioned whether the survey represented a majority of employees enrolled in the district plan: "87% of 216 is roughly 188 employees," noted a board member during discussion, and speakers pointed out that the district's total participating employees was described variously in the meeting as 491 and 497.

Some staff raised access concerns for employees with ongoing or complex medical needs. Board Member Lundberg said the Aetna Choice POS II network appeared to include fewer local providers than the UnitedHealthcare Choice Plus network according to the comparison the district circulated, and cautioned that employees who must keep long-standing relationships with specialists would be disrupted.

Other board members said they weighed staff input and district fiscal strain and chose to follow the majority of respondents to the staff survey. "If we don't listen, what's going to keep them here? We have to keep our people happy," one board member said before the vote.

The board also discussed the district's relationship with the Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) and whether switching to Asbate required additional membership or policy fees. Administration said the ASBA policy service piece costs roughly $5,490 and that ASBA membership for the district is about $16,000; staff said there would be no separate ASBA fee that employees would pay.

Board members and administrators agreed to monitor the switch and revisit insurance decisions in future annual reviews. President Wolcott asked employees who face urgent coverage or transition issues to contact Patricia Walker for help managing claims and provider transitions if the district moves forward with the change.

The item was the sole action on the agenda; the board adjourned after reading its upcoming meeting dates.