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Forest Hills board approves treasurer contracts, workers' comp policy; adopts policy revisions and elects president pro tem
Summary
At its Dec. 18, 2024 meeting, the Forest Hills Board of Education approved a consent package that included a three‑year third‑party administration contract for workers' compensation and an excess workers' comp insurance policy, adopted policy updates and elected a president pro tem for the Jan. 15 organizational meeting.
The Forest Hills Board of Education approved a consent agenda on Dec. 18 that extended a third‑party administration contract for workers' compensation, approved an excess workers' compensation insurance policy, adopted multiple policy revisions and named a president pro tem for the January organizational meeting.
Board action matters because the consent items affect the district's risk management, cash flow and near‑term operating budget. The treasurer reported multi‑year contracts and the district's cash position during the meeting, and trustees voted on routine policy changes required by recent state legislation.
The treasurer reported that Sedgwick Management Claims, the district's incumbent third‑party administrator for workers' compensation and unemployment claims, submitted the winning quote and was offered a three‑year agreement effective Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2027. The treasurer said the first year of the new contract reflected a 4.3% decrease relative to calendar year 2024, and that subsequent years include modest increases. The board approved the extension as part of the consent agenda.
The board also approved an excess workers' compensation insurance policy that the treasurer said will cost $33,709 per year for the next two years; the treasurer noted this represented a slight annual decrease from the prior policy year and reiterated that the district's stop‑loss level for self‑insured workers' compensation remains $400,000.
During the treasurer's report, the board was given the district's cash‑position numbers: a beginning general fund balance on July 1, 2024 of $23.3 million, a year‑to‑date cash balance of $37.7 million, and an unencumbered balance of $27.5 million. The treasurer said those balances equate to about 126 days of cash on hand and 99 days of unreserved cash after encumbrances. The treasurer also reported roughly $430,000 in encumbrances still outstanding on summer 2024 permanent improvement projects.
Votes at a glance
- Motion to adopt the meeting agenda — approved (roll call recorded as yes: Missus Stewart; Doctor Simmons; Doctor Strickler; Missus Jonas).
- Motion to approve action items 8.1 through 10.3 (consent agenda, which included the Sedgwick contract extension, summary financial reports and related personnel consent items) — approved (roll call: Doctor Strickler: yes; Doctor Simmons: yes; Missus Stewart: yes; Missus Jonas: yes).
- Motion to adopt the policy revisions presented in agenda item 11.2 (policy updates including a new cell‑phone policy and adjustments tied to recently enacted state law) — approved (roll call: Doctor Simmons: yes; Doctor Strickler: yes; Missus Stewart: yes; Missus Jonas: yes).
- Motion to appoint a president pro tem for the Jan. 15, 2025 organizational meeting — approved (roll call: Missus Stewart: yes; Missus Jonas: yes; Doctor Simmons: no; Doctor Strickler: yes).
The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn that carried by roll call.
Several items in the consent package were routine and informational: the treasurer presented the five‑year forecast and monthly reconciliation reports and noted that November is typically a slow cash‑flow month because key state semi‑monthly payments come at regular intervals. The treasurer also reviewed the district's permanent improvement project queue and early budget estimates for 2025 summer projects.
