If you have not heard about Senate Bill 6442 yet, it relates to health care for educators, and it stinks.
Basically, it would create a new division of state bureaucracy (costing $45 million taxpayer dollars just to set it up), and would become the new health care system for K-12 employees. This would increase the costs for school employees, cut health benefits and limit options educators and school employees currently have. It builds more government, is more expensive and rewards less.
It stinks for Democrats, Republicans and independents alike.
So if this bill is so bad, then why are people supporting it? The answer is that this bill is a sneaky yet direct attack on local decision making. Right now, educators are able to negotiate for the best health care plans on the local level, and up to this point school districts have had great success shopping around to find the best plans at the most reasonable prices.
If this bill were to take effect, then these rights would be stripped away. No one wins in this situation.
I am a nationally board certified teacher in the Kent school district. I, along with the vast majority of educators, oppose state Senate Bill 6442.
– Chase Parsley
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