School Board gets insurance break; enrollment down

CENTERVILLE — Active St. Mary public school staff members will see no premium increase in their health insurance premiums next year, the board decided Thursday.
Also at the regular second-Thursday School Board meeting, members heard another pupil head count indicating that enrollment is down.
The School Board shares the cost of health coverage with covered employees through Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Louisiana.
With higher claims driven mainly by prescription medication, Blue Cross had requested a 5% increase in premiums for the year that begins Jan. 1, 2026.
But the board’s insurance consultant, James Perez, said at September’s meeting that he was appealing Blue Cross’ premium calculation, especially what he called an underestimation of the effect that removing Mounjaro from the list of covered medications will have on costs.
Mounjaro is one of the GLP drugs that have helped push up prescription drug pay-outs. GLP drugs are used to treat diabetes, with the added benefit of weight loss.
On Thursday, Perez told the board that Blue Cross lowered its premium increase request to about 2.5%, or about $300,000 a year.
On a voice vote without objection, the board voted to absorb the premium increase without increasing covered employee’s share of the cost.
Enrollment
As of Oct. 1, K-12 public school enrollment stood at 6,719, Superintendent Dr. Buffy Fegenbush told the board.
That’s down 240 from 2024-25, Fegenbush said.
Enrollment has fallen by 960 since the 2020-21 state Education Department figure of 7,679.
The loss of enrollment tracks Census Bureau estimates of the parish’s population.
The bureau estimates that the parish lost 2,356 residents between the 2020 Census and mid-2024 and stood at 46,799.
Oct. 1 is a date used by the state to calculate how much St. Mary will receive in state Minimum Foundation Program funding.
The formula is based on factors such as enrollment and how much the district contributes to its own revenue.
According to the general fund budget passed last month, the school system will receive about $46.3 million in unrestricted MFP funding during the year ending June 30, 2026, a number that has also been decreasing.
Even so, the state funding exceeds the $43.7 million the district expects to raise from local sources, including sales and property taxes.
Also Thursday:
•The board recognized Students of the Month Amari Dugas, a fifth-grader at Bayou Vista Elementary; Larry Smith, a fifth-grader at W.P. Foster Elementary; and Seth Howse, a fifth-grader, and John Fitch, an eighth-grader, both of Patterson Junior High.
•The board recognized Employees of the Month: teacher Bridget Mabile, Bayou Vista Elementary; teacher Patrice Williams, W.P. Foster; and teacher Tracy Stelly, Patterson Junior High.
•The board approved a resolution of respect for retired Principal Herbert Hernandez, who died recently.