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Board president warns rising health-benefit costs threaten district programs
Summary
During the president's report at the June 15 River Dell board meeting trustees described sharp recent rises in employee health-benefit costs—a 30% increase in January and an anticipated 14–15% increase in July—and urged constituents to contact state lawmakers.
In the president's report on June 15, the River Dell Regional School District board said mounting employee health-benefit cost increases pose a fiscal risk to district programs.
The board president summarized a June 12 emergency legislative meeting focused on school-budget pressures tied to health-benefit increases and told listeners the district is seeing exceptionally large premium spikes: "We had a 30% increase in January and now they're looking for a 14 to 15% increase for July. And then for 2027, they're looking for a double-digit increase again," the president said, urging residents to contact state lawmakers about the fiscal consequences.
The president framed the increases as having real consequences: higher benefit costs could force future program cuts if funding does not change. The board encouraged parents and community members to contact congressional and state representatives, the governor's office and other officials to highlight the budget pressures. The board did not take any formal budget action at the meeting; follow-up budget discussions and year-end finance reports were handled in committee reports and the consent agenda.
The statement represents the board's assessment of budget risk and is a call for constituent advocacy rather than a legally binding claim; no external actuarial or rate documentation was presented during the public meeting.
