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 number. He said Azbate’s underwriting produced lower near-term costs for Prescott Unified, and he walked board members through plan-level differences employees would see, including variations in deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums and how those changes would affect employee payroll deductions for dependent coverage. Moore also called out differences in the dental administrator option and said district staff were still confirming dental-network details.

Board members pressed staff on implementation details for employees. The board asked the administration to provide clear comparisons for employees — including sample paycheck impacts for dependent coverage — and to confirm whether retirees could remain on the district plan under the new trust and how retiree costs would be administered. Moore said Azbate underwrote retirees as a separate subgroup and that more detail on retiree costs would be provided to staff before enrollment changes.

Votes at a glance

- Join Arizona School Boards Association Insurance Trust (Azbate): motion to approve the resolution to join Azbate (insurer change). Outcome: approved (5-0). Notes: Administration cited an actuarial quote showing a net reduction in projected district health-insurance spending versus staying with Kairos; employees would get same plan tiers but some deductibles, co-pays and pharmacy caps would differ by tier. Mover/second: not specified in public record.

- Revise FY2025–26 budget package (Revision 1): approved (5-0). Outcome: approved. Key elements: increase employee base pay to 3% (from previously approved 2.5%), set aside $159,000 as contingency for future needs; the budget revision reflects insurance savings pro forma. Mover/second: not specified.

- Intergovernmental agreements and memoranda of understanding (consent items and separate votes): approved. Items noted on the agenda included a renewed memorandum with a local hospital program that brings a mobile clinic to Mile High Middle School (Partners for Healthy Students), and an IGA with the Arizona Department of Economic Security for a Transition-to-Work (TSW) program for special-education students (district provides staffing, DES reimburses ~58% when reporting requirements are met). Outcome: approved (consent, then separate vote for pulled items). Mover/second: not specified.

- Policy adoptions: the board also adopted clarified public-comment language (policy BEDH) and a package of ASBA policy updates tied to Title IX and related procedures. Outcome: adopted (votes recorded on the agenda; adoption votes unanimous).

- Student-travel / exchange MOU: The board approved an MOU to add EF High School Exchange as an approved provider for exchange-student placements at Prescott High School. Outcome: approved.

Board members and staff said they intend to publish detailed enrollment and benefits information for employees before benefit open enrollment and to present plan-level examples that show how the change would affect individual paychecks, dependents’ premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The district’s administration also said it will present the final insurance enrollment package to staff, and that legal and benefits counsel would complete the transition work required if Azbate enrollment proceeds.

The board’s action does not change any employee benefit elections immediately; administration said transition steps and employee notices will be scheduled and that employee choice windows and detailed comparisons will be delivered well before any coverage change takes effect.

Ending

District leaders said the move aimed to preserve money for classroom use while responding to staff concerns about compensation and benefits. The administration will return to the board with detailed employee-facing enrollment materials and pay examples. If the board’s action results in the expected budget savings, the administration said it will use those savings to support the FY26 raise schedule and reserve the contingency money for enrollment fluidity or cost increases next year.