Teachers in Harris County aren’t the only ones getting crushed by ever-increasing healthcare prices. A new report from KGNS News in Laredo examines how teachers in South Texas are also seeing bills going up…and up…and up…
Sam Flores, assistant superintendent for business and finance at United ISD, said the district’s healthcare claims are rising quickly, with weekly bills increasing.
“We would get drafted probably $800,000 to $1 million every Monday. Then it started going to $1.3 million, then $1.4 million; we were presenting this to you all every month, $1.8 million. This past Monday, it went to $1.9. million. When that’s happening, we don’t refuse medical services to our employees; that’s what’s causing this cash shortfall,” Flores said.
These are seriously concerning numbers for a school district’s budget.
But behind the district level story are countless personal stories of teachers having to walk away from their calling because healthcare prices are threatening the financial viability of the profession.
Francesca Fullen, an Austin-area teacher recently told Texas lawmakers about how rising health insurance prices are making teaching “unsustainable” as a long-term profession.
In July, Texas Speaker Dustin Burrows told reporters that “Texas teachers play a foundational role in shaping the next generation, making their work essential to our state’s future” when discussing the Texas Legislature’s unprecedented investment in Teacher pay during the last legislative session.
Texas schools employ over 350,000 teachers. For lawmakers to protect the state’s investment in education, they will have to address the runaway healthcare prices that are busting school district budgets and making it harder to recruit and retain the best talent. The future of the state depends on it.