District trustees hear trust‑fund update; actuary says retention plan about 95% funded

Trustees of Laramie County School District #1 heard an update on trust funds set up in May 2020 to prefund two employee benefit programs and received an actuarial roll‑forward valuation showing strong progress on the retention bonus plan but remaining liabilities on the district’s retiree health obligations.

Mister Ciccarelli, presenting the district summary, said the trusts were created to hold and invest assets dedicated to two specific programs: an early‑retirement health incentive and a retention incentive that pays a lump sum equal to 1% of final salary after 10 years of continuous service. He emphasized these trusts are legally restricted for those purposes and that the plans were closed to new participants (policy changes were made in 2020–2021). Ciccarelli said the trusts were intended to “prefund long‑term liabilities” and reduce annual budget volatility while leaving…