School bus drivers lobby to keep state health insurance
Clayton County bus driver Deborah Lazarus clocked in for work at her usual 6:05 a.m. Friday, taking about 150 students to and from school.
Her workdays include being the first adult to see a child’s report card, making sure the child who’s allergic to peanuts avoids them and not getting sick herself when she notices a student with pinkeye.
If she does get sick, health insurance options for Lazarus and many Georgia bus drivers, cafeteria workers and other school personnel could soon be limited. Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed budget would eliminate health coverage for about 11,500 “non-certified” school employees who work an average of 30 hours or less a week.
Blindsided leaders of many of these groups are mobilizing against the plan, lobbying lawmakers not to support it. The Professional Association of Georgia Educators, for example, sent a letter to the appropriation chairmen of the state Senate and House of Representatives urging them to reject the plan.
Deal defended his proposal Thursday. He called it an issue of fairness because the state doesn't pay the health insurance tab for thousands of other part-time state employees. Full-time teachers and state employees get subsidized health insurance through the $3 billion State Health Benefit Plan.
“How can you transport what is our most precious cargo and expose us to every (illness) under the sun with no way to go to the doctor?” Lazarus, chairwoman of the Georgia Association of Educators Educational Support Professionals committee, asked rhetorically in an interview.
Officials said the move would save the state about $103 million. If approved by the Georgia Legislature, the new rules would take effect in January 2016.
Freshman state Rep. Bill Werkheiser, R-Glennville, said he plans to meet with the governor’s office this week to raise his concerns about the plan. He’s heard from bus drivers who say they took the jobs to get health insurance. Many earn less than $20,000 a year. Some say they’d have to find other jobs that help pay for health care.
“I just hope (Deal’s office) will see we need to find other solutions,” Werkheiser said.
Some have suggested the proposal is the first step to privatizing these jobs. Werkheiser called that speculation.
Werkheiser and administrators in many school districts are worried about a potential employee exodus. Garry Puetz, president of the Georgia Association for Pupil Transportation, a group aimed at protecting students who ride public or private school buses, fears losing experienced bus drivers.
“We think in the end, if this recommendation is approved, it’s going to impact our students’ safety,” said Puetz, speaking in his role with GAPT. Puetz is also the Forsyth County School District’s transportation director.
In Gwinnett County, the state’s largest school district, administrators are exploring options, such as the expensive proposition of the district spending more on health insurance for these workers. Gwinnett pays about $4 million annually in employer health insurance premiums for these workers, said Rick Cost, the district’s chief financial officer. Cost said another option for employees could be applying for insurance under the federal Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
Lazarus, 54, who made $16,000 last year, said she and many workers aren’t financially eligible for Obamacare or Medicaid.
In general, subsidies under the Affordable Care Act are available to those without employer coverage whose wages are at or up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level. The poverty level for an individual is $11,700.
Ellen Peek, a cafeteria worker and paraprofessional at DeKalb County’s Kelley Lake Elementary School, said workers are being encouraged to come en masse to the district’s next school board meeting to voice their concerns. Some workers, she said, will have to work a second job to pay for health insurance.
“No health care,” she said. “No life.”
About the Author
Eric Stirgus joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. He currently writes about higher education and has assisted in the newsroom’s COVID-19 vaccine coverage. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eric is active in the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the Education Writers Association and enjoys mentoring aspiring journalists.
