Teachers and employees that have been on strike in the Sheridan School District may lose their employee-sponsored health benefits starting on May 1, according to a district-wide email sent to employees on Wednesday.
The email, which was obtained by Denver7, offered employees the opportunity to move to COBRA coverage, adding some employees may need to pay the district back for premiums they have covered during the strike.
“I want to take a moment to acknowledge the difficulty and uncertainty that many of you have experienced over the past 15 days,” wrote Jamie Romero, the District’s director of human resources, in the email. “This has been an incredibly challenging time for our entire school community, and I recognize the personal and professional strain that this situation may be placing on you and your families. We have reached a point where there may be financial implications related to employee benefits. Depending on your individual benefit elections and coverage, there is a possibility that you may be responsible for reimbursing the District for your portion of benefit premiums that have been paid during this time.”
▶️ WATCH: Denver7's Dan Grossman talked with an employee in the wake of the announcement
Nathan Miller is one of the many employees who would be directly impacted by the change. A 5-year technician in the school district’s IT department, he says he currently pays $120 for a three-month supply of his epilepsy medication to prevent seizures. If he loses his healthcare coverage, Miller says the price for the same three-month supply will jump to $2,000.
“[Seeing that email gave me] panic, a little bit,” he said in an interview with Denver7 on Thursday. “I do have epilepsy and a general panic disorder, and if I go without my medication for even a short period of time, I can start having grand mal seizures again.”
The strike began on April 1st over new contracts, better pay and concerns over retaliation. Teachers and support staff told Denver7 employees have been disciplined or even laid off for speaking out about district issues.
The educators association wants the district to rescind what it's calling the retaliatory practices encompassed in a policy known as policy H.
On Wednesday, Governor Jared Polis intervened, urging both sides to set aside their differences and reach and agreement.
He elaborated in a press conference Thursday, saying, ““I really care a lot about some of our needy kids in Colorado that are not getting the education that they deserve right now. I continue to encourage both sides to be able to resolve what can be resolved, and agree to disagree and figure out the rest at some point in the future, after the school year is over.”
On Thursday, the Sheridan School District responded to the district-wide email regarding health benefits. In a statement to Denver7, it said it has been covering the full cost of employee healthcare benefits since the strike started, leading to $30,000 in unbudgeted expenses it quote, “simply cannot continue to cover.”
“We have a responsibility to the entire community to be good stewards of tax dollars and all public resources,” the statement read. “The practice of continuing to pay the full cost of benefits coverage for employees not reporting to work is not fiscally sustainable, and it is not fair to our entire staff nor to our entire community.”
Miller said he hopes a deal is reached sooner rather than later for the sake of his mental health, physical health, and finances.
“It's been very difficult having to think about what my finances look like in the future,” he said. “It's just difficult to feel like the district's trying to punish us with [the email regarding benefits], but then I do still love this district, and I want to help. I want to be back doing what I've been doing for the past five years.”
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