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Charlotte Co. Bus Drivers Lose Health Insurance: School Board Members Reinstate Their Own

   Written by on June 12, 2015 at 12:14 pm

The Charlotte County School Board voted in a recent meeting to stop health insurance coverage for school bus drivers and, at the recommendation of one of the members of the Board, that of School Board members as well. However, in an unexpected move on Tuesday evening, the Board voted to reinstate health insurance coverage, but for Board members only.

According to School Board member Jay George, the School Board voted in April to stop health care coverage for the 13 bus drivers that currently work for the county for financial reasons. According to sources, the estimated cost for group health care coverage offered is around $6,000.00 per person per year. George said in an interview, “When the vote went through in May I said, you all know that you just voted to take insurance away from some of the lowest paid people in the county, talking about county employees.” It was George’s recommendation, which can be found in the minutes of the May meeting, that prompted the School Board to vote unanimously to “…relinquish their option to participate in the school division’s group health care coverage, to become effective July 1, 2015.” Last evening, the Board rescinded their previous vote, reinstating their own health care coverage, but not that of the county’s bus drivers. The vote to reinstate coverage carried 5-1, with one member, Brette Arbogast, absent. Superintendent Leonard could not be reached for comment.

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