Fremont County Joint District #215 | minutes | meeting 2026-06-18 | Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees - minutes source: https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/ViewMeeting.aspx?S=36031552&MID=5824&T=1 Voting Members Tia Cherry, Board Chair Julianne Hill, Board Vice Chair JayLee Packer, Trustee Brett Johnson, Trustee I. Call Meeting to Order Board Vice-Chair, Julianne Hill called the meeting to order at 7:30 am. The floor was opened for public participation.  There was none. Board Vice-Chair, Julianne Hill called the meeting to order at 7:30 am. The floor was opened for public participation.  There was none. II. ACTION ITEMS A. Teacher Negotiations 2026-2027 The District and FEA Negotiating Teams reached an agreement on June 10.  The FEA ratified the negotiations on Friday, June 12.  Superintendent Farris presented the terms of the agreement. Salaries.   Keep the same teacher salary schedule (career ladder) as last year.  Honor movement. Insurance . The district will pay the 16.5% increase in health insurance.  We agreed to the FEA schedule for other insurance options (e.g., family, spouse, child, etc.). Article 4. Removed and revised any special conditions for the Association (e.g., membership dues, use of buildings, use of district email, etc.) to align with legislation. Article 7. Removed wording for Sick Leave Bank and will move it to policy. Article 9. Revised wording on Insurance Committee regarding the make-up of the team. Motion Move to ratify the negotiations as they have been put forth. Discussion There were several questions from trustees regarding an email sent by a teacher regarding insurance benefits.  Superintendent Farris and Jamie Hymas, Human Resources and member of the District's negotiation team, explained the insurance review process for the 2025-2026 school year.  An insurance committee met for many months and reviewed many different insurance options before finally recommending the current tiered system that includes both PPO and HSA options for employees.  They explained that these benefits are reviewed continually by office staff as new options are made available.  Ongoing informational meetings and training will be provided to help teachers select the products that are best for their needs.  One of the challenges is finding a reasonable balance in the various offered programs, the District's contribution, and plans to mitigate the ongoing increases.  With the declining enrollment and reduced funding, the District will be reviewing all employee insurance benefits during the upcoming year.   Superintendent Farris and Jamie Hymas answered a number of other questions and offered to meet with individual trustees as needed to help provide more clarification.  It was noted that the Fremont Education Association (FEA) had been verified as the bargaining unit to negotiate for all teachers and that the agreed-upon proposal was actually the one put forward by the FEA.  The purpose of this meeting is to review and approve the negotiated agreement that was already ratified by the FEA on June 10, 2026. A roll-call vote was conducted. The District and FEA Negotiating Teams reached an agreement on June 10.  The FEA ratified the negotiations on Friday, June 12.  Superintendent Farris presented the terms of the agreement. Salaries.   Keep the same teacher salary schedule (career ladder) as last year.  Honor movement. Insurance . The district will pay the 16.5% increase in health insurance.  We agreed to the FEA schedule for other insurance options (e.g., family, spouse, child, etc.). Article 4. Removed and revised any special conditions for the Association (e.g., membership dues, use of buildings, use of district email, etc.) to align with legislation. Article 7. Removed wording for Sick Leave Bank and will move it to policy. Article 9. Revised wording on Insurance Committee regarding the make-up of the team. Motion Move to ratify the negotiations as they have been put forth. Discussion There were several questions from trustees regarding an email sent by a teacher regarding insurance benefits.  Superintendent Farris and Jamie Hymas, Human Resources and member of the District's negotiation team, explained the insurance review process for the 2025-2026 school year.  An insurance committee met for many months and reviewed many different insurance options before finally recommending the current tiered system that includes both PPO and HSA options for employees.  They explained that these benefits are reviewed continually by office staff as new options are made available.  Ongoing informational meetings and training will be provided to help teachers select the products that are best for their needs.  One of the challenges is finding a reasonable balance in the various offered programs, the District's contribution, and plans to mitigate the ongoing increases.  With the declining enrollment and reduced funding, the District will be reviewing all employee insurance benefits during the upcoming year.   Superintendent Farris and Jamie Hymas answered a number of other questions and offered to meet with individual trustees as needed to help provide more clarification.  It was noted that the Fremont Education Association (FEA) had been verified as the bargaining unit to negotiate for all teachers and that the agreed-upon proposal was actually the one put forward by the FEA.  The purpose of this meeting is to review and approve the negotiated agreement that was already ratified by the FEA on June 10, 2026. A roll-call vote was conducted. III. Adjourn Move to adjourn.  (7:56 am) Move to adjourn.  (7:56 am)