Team Fort Osage met for the second time this year on December 3. It was a productive meeting with good feedback provided by the committee. There was discussion about health insurance, school calendars, COVID days for staff, the bond and levy construction projects, and the upcoming Team Fort Osage rotation (information provided below on each).
Health Insurance Prior to last year, Fort Osage had been able to keep the insurance premium increases in check with good staff health and low claims. A few years ago, Fort Osage had the best claims loss ratio in the metro at 73% (compared to 31 area schools). These low claims led to minimal insurance premium increases (if any) for several years. Since then, claims have nearly doubled with the claims loss for this year at 141%. On January 1, 2022, Fort Osage will enter into its second year of the three-year commitment with the Consortium, which includes the Blue Springs, Grain Valley and Smithville School Districts. Cigna will remain our health care provider and we will offer the same four plan options. The only change will be the cost of the plans and the amount the District contributes toward the plans. Based on our current claims (141% claims loss), Fort saw an increase in premiums of approximately 12%.This increase is considerably lower than what I would have expected had we not been self insured. With board approval, the District’s contribution has gone from $633.00 to $710.00 per month. By doing so, this made three of the four plan options completely board paid. If you have any questions, please contact Benefits Coordinator, Laura Ford, at [email protected]. 2021-2022 Calendar With the Board of Education approving November 22 and 23 as non-student attendance days, I provided information explaining the state requirement for student hours (1,044) in the calendar. I felt confident recommending to the board to allow the two additional days off because it is unlikely we will have to make them up. We will not be required to make those two days up unless we have more inclement weather days than any previous school year. 2023-2024 Calendar Team Fort Osage will provide feedback on the 2023-2024 calendar at their February 3 meeting. After the meeting there will be a survey sent to staff in order to receive additional input before a recommendation is provided to the board. COVID Days The Board of Education extended the COVID leave days for staff through the current 2021-2022 work calendars. We are proud to still be offering this to staff. Bond and Levy Construction Projects The timeline below was discussed. Winter 2021 New transportation, maintenance, technology, central office building (The grading is completed and construction of the building’s foundation will begin soon.) Design Phase Kitchens Gym Band Room Renovation Parking and Road Improvements Summer 2022 Kitchen Renovations (Bids will be opened on January 11, 2022) Blue Hills Buckner Fire Prairie Osage Trail Blue Hills Drive and Parking (Bids will be opened on January 11, 2022) Parking and Drive Improvements (Bids will be accepted in March, 2022) Fire Prairie Portion of Main Campus (east of Indian Lane) Summer of 2023 Kitchen Renovations (Bids will be accepted in March, 2022) Cler-Mont Elm Grove Indian Trails High School Band Room Renovations (Bids will be accepted in March, 2022) All Projects Completed Team Fort Osage Rotation Team Fort Osage was established in February of 2019 in order to provide feedback on various school related topics. Beginning next school year, approximately ⅓ of the current members will rotate off the committee. New Team Fort Osage members will be selected to replace the vacant spots. At their December 14 meeting, the board approved solar panels to be installed this spring at Elm Grove, Fire Prairie and the High School. After a detailed study was performed at every building, these three buildings were selected because it made the most financial sense.
The solar panels will be mounted on the roof. We will be engaging the principals of those buildings in conversation regarding the best time to perform the work. We will be very mindful of instructional time and any testing that may be planned.  For those of you interested, a $20.00 gift card to Casey's General Store, courtesy of the Fort Osage Education Foundation, will be given away to one lucky winner. To enter, send an email to [email protected] with "Casey's" in the subject line. Entries will be accepted until 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 4.
Giveaway prizes are not purchased with District funds. Only Fort Osage employees are eligible to enter the drawing. |
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