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Springfield Board approves health‑plan renewal, bus purchases and construction bids
Summary
At its Sept. 17 meeting, the Springfield Public Schools board approved a 3% medical plan increase (budgeted at about $760,000), authorized purchase of eight replacement buses at $1.3 million, approved a $1.747 million classroom addition bid and granted a stormwater easement to the city.
The Springfield Public Schools Board of Education approved several operational and capital items during its Sept. 17 meeting, including an annual health insurance renewal, transportation purchases and construction bids.
Health insurance: Dr. Shaw presented the district’s health‑plan renewal, describing a 3% increase to the medical plan — an amount the district budgeted and that Dr. Shaw said represents “about a $760,000 increase.” He emphasized the district’s commitment to continuing to pay 100% of employee insurance premiums. The board approved the renewal. Dr. Shaw also described benefits details: a $936 annual employer contribution to employees’ HSAs for those on the high‑deductible plan (about a $24 increase from the previous year), a roughly 5% increase in the dental contribution (from $10.85 to $11.40), pharmacy services guaranteed through 2026 with Capital Rx, and a recommendation to change stop‑loss coverage from Sun Life to QBE producing an estimated 3% cost decrease for that coverage.
Transportation and facilities: The board approved replacing eight buses under the district’s replacement schedule; staff reported a low bid of $1,300,000 to Midwest Transit and the board voted to approve the purchase. The board also authorized granting a stormwater operation and maintenance easement at Glendale High School to the City of Springfield.
Construction and bond projects: As part of 2023 bond project updates, staff notified the board of intent to use the construction‑manager‑at‑risk (CMR) delivery method for the Persian construction project (estimated at $46,680,000) and described the public‑notice and RFQ timeline leading to a Nov. 19 request for board approval to hire a construction manager. Separately, staff presented the low responsible bidder for the Wilder classroom addition — Crosslands at $1,747,000 — and the board approved that construction contract.
Motions and votes were recorded in the meeting minutes for each item (the transcript records the outcomes as passed with the phrasing 'passes 6 nothing' or 'passes 5 nothing' as shown during the meeting). No item was tabled or defeated at the Sept. 17 meeting.
The board also received routine change‑order reports and heard a superintendent update about recent ribbon cuttings and grants connected to Proposition S.
