Minidoka negotiators approve move to state health plan for certificated staff

Negotiators for the Minidoka County Joint District and the Minidoka County Education Association on Thursday approved moving certificated staff to the state insurance plan, with bargaining teams signaling agreement by thumbs-up vote.

The decision matters because the state’s insurance plan requires a signed memorandum of understanding soon to enroll. Daryl, the district staff member who presented budget figures, told the group the state plan becomes a five-year commitment and that the district needed a signed MOU “by tomorrow” if they were to enroll immediately.

Daryl walked the teams through the budget impacts. Using the state Regents Blue Shield option and a one-step pay scenario for certified staff, he said the general fund projections showed a net positive of about $429,000 before accounting for supplemental contracts and substitutes. “A 1 step, pay with the state regents Blue Shield would be 429,000, positive or a net, net income,” Daryl said. When the supplemental contracts and substitutes (about $1,300,000) and other offsets were added, the one-step scenario remained near breakeven; a two-step salary scenario produced a projected general-fund deficit of roughly $311,000 in the first year, Daryl said.

Daryl also presented five-year projections tied to a five-year state-plan commitment. He said the district’s modernization interest revenue — roughly $800,000 in the first year of the projection — was expected to decline as modernization funds are spent, increasing projected deficits later in the five-year window.

Union co-presidents framed the choice as a membership priority. MCEA Co-President Nicole Toner said the insurance option had been the top item in a member survey and sought to prioritize it in the bargaining package. Bargaining teams voted to adopt the state insurance option that was on the table that night.

Next steps: the district must sign the state MOU within the timeline set by the state and finalize the insurance enrollment logistics with human resources. The five-year commitment means future budget planning will reflect the state plan’s multi-year structure and the district’s projections for offsets and fund-balance use.