School District Prevails Against Retirees
The Garden City School District has prevailed in its lawsuit against 34 retirees who chose not to repay the district after it was revealed an error had been made in calculating the cost of their health insurance, announced Superintendent Dr. Robert Fiersen at the July 7th meeting of the Garden City Board of Education. He emphasized that it is possible the defendants will appeal the decision.
In November of 2007, the school board unanimously authorized its legal counsel, Guercio & Guercio, to proceed with litigation against 34 retirees who had either refused or neglected to repay the district. For years, a total of 68 members of the teaching staff who retired from the Garden City School District after November of 1995 unknowingly did not pay the full cost of their health insurance premium due to a district coding error.
The district was attempting to collect a total of $119,600. They have already received payment or payment promises from 34 retirees totaling $51,000, which is close to 40 percent of the collectible amount.
The error was caught by Albert Chase, assistant superintendent for business and finance, during a review of union contracts during the budget development process in February of 2007. In 1995, as a result of teacher collective bargaining negotiations, the district obtained a change in the percentage of health costs paid by that group. Under the terms of the contract, staff members retiring after November 1995 would be required to pay 10 percent of the individual cost of the premium and 25 percent of the family add-on.
Chase reported to Superintendent Dr. Robert Feirsen and the Board of Education that staff members opting for family coverage were not paying the 10 percent that applied to the individual portion. In total, 68 retirees were involved, including staff who retired at the end of the 2006 school year.
Attorneys for the school district informed the district that they were obligated to collect the funds but were limited to a retroactive collection of six years, going back to March 2001. Therefore, approximately $16,900 is not recoverable.
Retirees received letters from the district and payment plans were made available. The obligation of each retiree ranged from a few hundred dollars to $3,000.
