Prescott Unified approves switch to ASBA insurance trust and revises budget to raise staff pay

The Prescott Unified School District governing board voted unanimously April 1 to join the Arizona School Boards Association Insurance Trust (Azbate) and to adopt a revised fiscal-year 2025–26 budget that raises base compensation by 3% and sets aside an additional $159,000 for district priorities.

The board approved the insurance trust membership after Chief Financial Officer Mr. Moore presented underwriting estimates showing a substantial cost difference between the district’s current insurer, Kairos, and Azbate. Moore said Azbate’s quote reduced the district’s projected health-insurance expense by roughly $92,000 compared with staying with Kairos, producing a net difference of about $218,000 versus Kairos’s earlier proposed increase. The board and administration said the savings made it feasible to boost the previously approved 2.5% raise to a 3% raise for staff.

The change matters because health-plan premiums are a major recurring expense for districts and because Prescott Unified’s budget decisions affect pay, staff retention and program funding. Board members and staff described the switch as a financial decision aimed at preserving classroom resources while responding to employee compensation concerns.

Moore told the board that Kairos initially signaled a steep default increase and that Kairos later revised that…