Francis Howell R-III Board approves insurance renewals, administration recommends up to 14% district contribution increase and year-end transfers to shore up $6

Chief Finance and Operations Officer Carol Embrey told the Francis Howell R-III Board of Education on May 28 that the district must change insurance vendors, address a shrinking self-insurance fund and consider plan-design and funding changes to limit future operating impacts.

Embry said the district has already transferred $6,000,000 from operating funds into the health fund to cover higher-than-expected claims and reported a self-insurance fund balance of $552,000 in May; she said the district’s informal target is about $7,000,000 to be prepared for claim volatility. "We should be maintaining $7,000,000 at June 30 so that we're equipped to weather the storm of the new bills," Embrey said.

The administration recommended several vendor and plan decisions and asked the board to approve them as a package. The board approved the recommendations by voice vote after discussion. "Motion to approve the employee insurance recommendation as presented," a member moved; the motion passed after members voted by voice.

Why it matters: Embrey said every dollar moved from operating funds to cover health-care costs is a dollar that cannot be used for salaries, staffing or other operating needs. The board and administration tied the insurance decisions to the district budget work for fiscal 2026 and warned that rising insurance costs will affect future salary negotiations and staffing decisions.

Most important decisions and recommendations

- Premium and vendor actions the board approved as recommended: renew dental with Delta Dental (6.3% rate increase), move vision coverage from EyeMed to NVA (about a 17.5% savings, roughly $70,000 annually), and renew life and disability with the incumbent…