Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Healthcare Costs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Union Beach board urges state to address rising school employee health‑care costs
Summary
At its May 26 addendum, the Union Beach Board of Education placed a resolution urging Governor Mikie Sherrill and the Legislature to provide immediate relief from sharply rising public‑employee health‑care premiums and to pursue long‑term reforms to the State Employees Health Benefits Program (SEHBP).
The Union Beach Board of Education on May 26 placed a resolution on its meeting addendum calling on Governor Mikie Sherrill and the New Jersey Legislature to provide immediate, short‑term relief from rising health‑care costs affecting school districts and to pursue long‑term reforms to how benefits are delivered through the State Employees Health Benefits Program (SEHBP).
The resolution, recorded in the meeting packet, says the board is acting amid “continued fiscal uncertainty and mounting challenges” and cites a mid‑year Treasury Department SEHBP analysis released in March 2026 that it summarizes as concluding that “based on these projected losses and building in future trends, active premium rate increases for 2027 are likely to be in the double digits.” The board’s resolution also notes a 31.9% premium increase that took effect in January 2026 and an overall premium increase of nearly 74% over the preceding five years, language the board uses to underscore budgetary pressure on local districts.
The resolution argues that those increases “far exceed inflation, state aid increases and the fiscal capacity of local communities,” and warns that rising premiums can force districts to use the full extent of their tax levy and may lead to deficits, program cuts or school closures that affect students and vulnerable populations. It urges the governor to engage stakeholders and the Legislature to implement practical reforms intended to generate long‑term savings.
The board directed that copies of the resolution be sent to Governor Mikie Sherrill; State Treasurer Aaron Binder; Senate President Nicholas Scutari; Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin; State Senator Declan J. O’Scanlon Jr.; Assemblywoman Victoria A. Flynn; Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger; and the New Jersey School Boards Association. The addendum presents the resolution for board consideration; the transcript does not record a vote on the resolution in these segments.
The action places the issue on the board’s record and signals the district’s request for state attention to projected health‑care premium increases and their fiscal effects on local school budgets.
