Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Employee Health Insurance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Livingston Parish School Board approves sharing 2026 OGB premium increase with employees, sets 5% employee rate rise
Summary
The board voted to increase employee insurance premiums by 5% above current employee rates for 2026, after staff presented two options and union testimony urging premiums be kept flat.
The Livingston Parish School Board voted to apply a 5% increase to employee health insurance premiums for 2026, choosing a middle option the board said balanced district cost pressures and employee affordability.
Business Manager Ashley Hammond presented two options for responding to a 7.7% Office of Group Benefits (OGB) premium increase: a 5% employee premium increase that would raise district costs by an estimated $487,000 (total district cost about $2.7 million) or a 7% employee premium increase that staff estimated would raise district costs by $243,000 (total district cost about $2.5 million). Hammond said since the board began absorbing employee premium increases in 2023, premiums have risen about 25% and the board's additional annual cost has totaled about $4.1 million.
"We are asking that the board vote to help the employees by keeping the insurance premiums the same as last year," said Richard Baker, representing the Livingston Federation of Teachers and School Employees and the Louisiana Federation of Teachers and School Employees, during public comment. Baker cited survey results about salary pressure and second-job rates among Livingston teachers and urged protection of take-home pay.
Hammond said the first option (a 5% increase above current employee rates) would result in sample monthly increases on the Magnolia Local Plus plan of about $9.82 for employee-only coverage, $31.90 for employee-and-spouse, $14.14 for employee-and-children and $34.18 for family coverage. Hammond told the board that because the district had absorbed prior OGB increases, district contributions per family on Magnolia Local Plus had risen by roughly $1,500 annually since 2022–23.
A board member moved to adopt the 5% employee premium increase; another board member seconded. The board voted by voice and the motion carried.
Board members thanked staff for finding a compromise between fully absorbing the OGB increase and passing the full increase to employees. One board member noted the district has absorbed 17.25% in increases over the last three years and said the 5% approach covers most of the current OGB rise while sharing part of the increase with employees.
The board directed staff to implement the 5% adjustment to employee rates beginning Jan. 1, 2026, and to report any further budgetary implications to the board. Individual premium dollar amounts will vary by plan and dependent status; staff provided sample amounts for the Magnolia Local Plus plan during the presentation.
