District reports higher workers' comp 'mod rate,' board seeks insurer review and safety plan

Oshkosh Area School District administrators told the board April 23 that the district's workers' compensation modification (mod) rate rose to 1.3, above the insurance-industry benchmark, and outlined a plan to reduce that rate.

Conrad Peters (district administrator leading safety and finance updates) said the increase was driven largely by a small number of high-cost claims from 2023–24, not solely by student-on-staff behavior. Peters said slips and falls during physical activity and other high-cost incidents accounted for much of the rise and that the district will pursue a new insurance broker and carrier with targeted expert assistance.

Board members and staff debated the relationship between student behavior and staff injuries. Board member Barb Herzog pushed for faster, broader steps to protect staff and reduce incidents involving physical interactions; administrators pointed to the separate but related work on behavior interventionists, PBIS and conscious discipline.

The district plans a 90‑day action plan and a three‑year goal to achieve a mod rate under 1.0. Measures include changing brokers, reviewing claim management, creating a one-year plan to reduce high-cost exposures and presenting the plan to the Facilities and Finance Committee for board review. Administrators also said that incident reviews will continue at supervisor and building levels and that they will seek better data and leading indicators (near-miss reporting) to act faster than a multi-year rolling average allows.

Several board members said the mod rate's three‑year rolling-average calculation explains why reductions take time and urged reporting of leading indicators in addition to the mod rate itself. Peters said the district has already begun reviewing provider options and will return to committee with a plan and timeline.