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Norwalk School District CFO: 32% teacher insurance premium increase creates roughly $3M budget gap
Summary
Norwalk Public Schools CFO Lunda Asmani told the Finance Committee on July 8 that a 32% increase in teacher health insurance premiums and the Board's required HSA contributions create an estimated $3 million shortfall for FY27; the district will begin talks with the City in the coming weeks to address the gap.
Norwalk Public Schools Chief Financial Officer Lunda Asmani told the Board of Education Finance Committee on July 8 that a 32% increase in the teachers' health insurance premium has produced an estimated $3,000,000 budget shortfall for the coming year.
"The teachers are still on the Cigna plan, which saw a 32% increase," Asmani said, and added that the district's calculations include the Board's obligation to fund 50% of health savings account contributions under the high-deductible plan (about $1,800,000 annually). "So that is about a $3,000,000 expense that is unaccounted for in this budget."
Why it matters: the district approved the FY27 budget in May based on the expectation that teachers would move to the State Partnership Plan. That change did not occur, Asmani said, so the district faces materially higher premiums and an additional HSA cost that were not reflected in the budget assumptions.
Asmani said the district and its consultants calculated the $3 million delta; the teachers' consultants produced a lower estimate, roughly $1.5 million. "There was a difference between the number that our consultants were giving us and the number that the teachers consultants were giving them," Asmani said, describing the variance as primarily due to the HSA contributions required under the high-deductible plan and differences in census assumptions.
The new insurance rates take effect Sept. 1, Asmani said, giving the district a window to negotiate with the City, which holds the insurance fund. "We're gonna start meetings in the next couple of weeks," he said, and added those talks will likely include the finance chair and City counterparts and will be more than a single meeting.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about timing and responsibility. One member noted the board cannot unilaterally require teachers to join a different plan where the collective bargaining agreement preserves the teachers' choice. Asmani confirmed that contractual protections prevent the district from compelling a change in coverage.
Next steps: Asmani said the district will open discussions with the City to seek arrangements to address the gap, and the committee will receive further updates. The committee did not take formal action on the insurance issue during the meeting.
