EM school board approves Medica health insurance
By LeAnn R. Ralph
ELK MOUND — The Elk Mound Board of Education has approved Medica as a health insurance provider for the school district.
The health insurance that will be available for district employees will come with different options of deductibles and different premium increases, the Board of Education learned at the April 25 meeting.
The premium increase will be .8 percent with a $3,000 deductible, and a 2 percent increase with a $2,750 deductible, with another plan having a higher deductible of $3,000 for an individual and $6,000 for a family with a 1.3 percent increase in the premium, said Dr. Ron Walsh, school superintendent.
Because a certain number of employees have retired, the staff at Elk Mound is “becoming younger,” and presumably, becoming healthier, he said.
Although the deductibles are higher than what they have been in the past, the deductibles are lower, relatively speaking, compared to other plans, Dr. Walsh said.
Medica provides individual and group health plans in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
The district’s dental insurance premiums will increase by 4.2 percent.
Other business
In other business, the Elk Mound Board of Education:
• Approved a change in the district’s policy 661, depository for school funds, to include Independence State Bank for day-to-day operations since Bremer Bank in Elk Mound is closing.
• Accepted the resignation of Jayson Lesik as an assistant high school football coach. Lesik teaches sixth grade.
• Accepted the resignation of Mike Proft as the middle school football coach. Proft teaches fifth grade.
• Confirmed the next school board meeting for May 16. The teacher recognition luncheon will be at 3:30 p.m., and the school board will meet at 5 p.m.
• Approved the curriculum coordinator contract for 2016-2017. The curriculum coordinator will be shared with the Boyceville school district — 75 days in Elk Mound and 50 days in Boyceville.
• Approved Kyle Jenson as the at-large delegate for the Cooperative Educational Service Agency No. 11 annual meeting.
• Agreed to not maintain the seat Elk Mound has on the CESA No. 11 Board of Control. School board members agreed that since Elk Mound had retained for the board seat for quite a few years, another school district should have the opportunity to take the position. Jenson had most recently served on the CESA No. 11 Board of Control. Retired school board member Margaret Dieter had served on the Board of Control for many years before she retired last year.
Following a closed session, the Elk Mound Board of Education:
• Approved Sarah Sweeney as the student representative on the Elk Mound Board of Education for the 2016-2017 school year.
• Approved granting the authority to Paul Weber, high school principal, to hire a high school math teacher and a high school business education teacher and to issue contracts.
• Approved hiring Dave Lew as the E-Club advisor. Lew will replace Jeff Mack, who is retiring at the end of the school year.
• Approved Jesse Zurbuchen as a non-teaching high school assistant football coach.
• Approved transferring Dave Lew from the middle school to the high school to teach social studies.
• Approved contracts for all teachers in the school district, except those who will be retiring.
• Approved 11 teachers for a promotion on the district’s salary schedule. A total of 11 teachers applied for a promotion, and all of them met the criteria, Dr. Walsh said.
