The Columbus City Schools says it has reached an agreement with its labor unions to address a health insurance crisis the district said would lead to higher health insurance charges for employees.
At a special Sept. 28 Joint Insurance Committee (JIC) meeting, district unions and the administration came to an agreement to ensure health insurance continues with a capped 8% premium increase to participating members in 2027, alongside plan changes to the health benefits plan. The vote, which was unanimous, avoids steep health insurance surcharges for employees starting in January 2027.
The CCS Board of Education initially had a planned a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 28 aimed at addressing the crisis, but it was canceled in light of the agreement
at the JIC meeting.
Employee open enrollment is scheduled to continue as planned in the first week of October.
The Sept. 28 meeting was planned after the Columbus Education Association, which represents district teachers and other educational support staff, voted at the district's Sept. 23 Joint Insurance Committee meeting to reject plan changes, which the district said will lead to higher insurance charges for district faculty and administrators.
District leadership had warned that the health insurance premiums would increase between approximately 19% and 25% in 2027, but the district had proposed a solution that would only increase benefits cost by 8%. If the committee did not approve the changes, district employees will pay 100% for everything above 8% as an employee surcharge.
The Joint Insurance Committee meeting was held to address an insurance "disaster" caused by a bad deal between CCS and Aon, a London-based insurance consultant that cost the district millions and forced them to dip into their self-insurance fund reserves.
In a statement, CCS Superintendent Angela Chapman said: "I am grateful to our labor leaders and the teams representing our many CCS union members for working closely with us to ensure quality health benefits for CCS employees in 2027 and to make sure that we are all paying a fair share for these important benefits."
The Dispatch previously reported that an internal report found that the district could lose as much as $40 million after deals an employee signed with health insurance consultancy firm Aon led to an underfunding of the district's self-insurance fund. Some board members said they were interested in recouping the money.
Bad insurance deal lead to spiraling district crisis
The Dispatch reported on July 27 that CCS was considering firing a human resources administrator after it found she had improperly signed contracts and failed to maintain records regarding her dealings with Aon. The health insurance consultant helped the district navigate its employee health insurance benefits package in 2024.
An external forensic audit of the dealings with Aon found the district overspent as much as $40 million more than expected for the benefits plan produced by Aon during 2025 and 2026, and that Aon "generally treated the district as a taxpayer-funded cash cow."
Aon was paid a total of more than $300,000 for 2024 and 2025, in addition to commissions. It was expected to be paid $180,000 in 2026 for consulting services before the district ended the contract early. The benefits plan, according to the audit, forced the district to pay for cost overruns based on bad projections. Aon refused to disclose the dollar amounts of any commissions it received, the audit said.
However, at an Aug. 4 meeting, CCS board President Antoinette Miranda said the cost overrun was detected by human resources personnel, and no money has come from the district's general fund in the past two years. She said describing the underfunding "as a district failure is inaccurate."
The district did lose $22.5 million to the underfunding problem, but Miranda said that it was only underfunded by $1 million in the first six months of 2026, meaning the actual loss to the district has been $23.5 million. She said it is not likely the cost will reach $40 million.
In August, the Columbus Education Association (CEA), the district's union representing teachers and other faculty, filed a grievance against the district over the fallout of the deal, saying the district asked its members to "substantially alter their health care coverage for the next year."
CEA President John Coneglio told The Dispatch that the district had presented three unpalatable options to the CEA and has not been transparent or provided the union with a clear picture of the problem.
On Sept. 21, the CEA announced three demands to the district, including taking legal action against Aon, implementing auditing and monitoring measures, and working with district employees to resolve the crisis.
Cole Behrens covers K-12 education and school districts in central Ohio. Have a tip? Contact Cole at cbehrens@dispatch.com or connect with him on X at @Colebehr_report
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus City Schools, unions agree to changes to avoid insurance 'disaster'
