CCEA representatives ask Cannon County to increase teacher health support and extend pay scale
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Summary
At a March 24 budget workshop, CCEA presenters asked the Cannon County school board to help cover single and family health-insurance costs, extend the certified teacher salary schedule from 20 to 25 years (with a future goal of 30) and consider a 2–3% certified-teacher raise; staff were asked to model exact fiscal impacts.
CCEA representatives told the Cannon County school board at a March 24 budget workshop that they want the county to help reduce teacher out‑of‑pocket costs for health insurance and to make the district’s salary schedule more competitive.
The CCEA representative (Speaker 2) said the union is asking the county to raise its share of single policies by 1 percentage point and to increase the county contribution toward family policies so more employees can afford coverage. "We want to propose that the state pays 45% of our insurance... and we're asking for a 1% raise from the county to help us with that," the CCEA representative said in the workshop.
Why it matters: presenters said many teachers — including spouses who both work for the district — are paying duplicate deductibles or holding separate policies because of current plan rules. The union argued a modest county contribution would improve recruitment and retention by reducing employees’ monthly premiums and out‑of‑pocket costs.
Details presented at the workshop: the transcript contains several line items presented by the union and finance staff. The CCEA representative reported a per‑month figure for single‑policy support as "$1,256 a month" and an annual total stated as "$11,256 a year"; the union also estimated roughly 50 employees on family policies and an annual county cost for moving family coverage closer to comparable counties of about $80,000. Finance staff also referenced a restricted teacher‑salary trust and other available funds they will model.
Salary schedule and raises: the union proposed increasing the certified teacher salary scale from 20 years to at least 25 years now and to 30 in a future phase to better match surrounding districts. A finance estimate presented in the workshop put the approximate annual cost to sustain the scale increase near $200,000; a restricted‑fund line referenced in the discussion was $205,388.47, which presenters suggested could be used toward the change. The CCEA representative also asked the board to model a systemwide 2% or 3% raise for certified teachers.
What the board asked staff to do: multiple board members and finance staff said they will run detailed calculations and return with a clear cost breakdown. The CCEA representative and participants asked for a follow‑up showing the fiscal impact of (a) the 1% single‑policy county contribution, (b) raising county support for family policies, (c) moving the certified salary schedule to 25 years and (d) a 2% versus 3% raise.
Numbers and uncertainty: several figures cited in the workshop were inconsistent or preliminary in the transcript (for example, the transcript lists both a monthly and an annual figure for single‑policy aid that do not mathematically align). The district’s finance office agreed to produce precise calculations and a line‑item budget to resolve these differences before any formal board action.
Next steps: staff (Finance/HR) will prepare a detailed cost analysis and a budget draft that reflects any agreed changes; the board indicated the proposals will return as agenda items for consideration in a future meeting rather than being decided at the workshop.
