Edgar K-12 hit with 12.5% insurance hike
By Casey Krautkramer
The Edgar Board of Education learned last Wednesday that the district will see the highest increase in health insurance costs next year – 12.5 percent – among the six school districts in its insurance consortium.
Districts in the Marathon County Special Education consortium, including Abbotsford, Athens, Edgar, Marathon, Spencer and Rosholt, have used their combined buying power to obtain better health insurance rates for years now. However, that won’t be the case for Edgar next school year.
Superintendent Cari Guden said each school district in the consortium received a different rate based on their percentage of employees using Aspirus versus those using Marshfield Clinic. She said 99 percent of Edgar School District employees receive medical care at Aspirus, compared to just one district employee using Marshfield Clinic.
Edgar would’ve had a slightly lower increase, 12 percent, in health insurance costs had the consortium remained with Aspirus. However, Guden said she was the only one to vote against the consortium switching from Aspirus to Security Health plan next school year.
“The higher percentage of employees using Aspirus in a district meant a higher increase in rates for 2025-26,” she said. “The higher percentage of employees using Marshfield Clinic/Hospitals in a district meant a very low increase in rates for 2025-26.”
Guden said one school district in the consortium will only see a .6 percent increase in health insurance costs because there are only Marshfield Clinic facilities in its area.
Other business
■ The board approved one-time pay increases of $1,600 for teachers for the 2025-2026 school year base on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) being at 2.95 percent. Guden said teachers received a $2,000 increase in their yearly salary this year because the CPI was 4.12 percent. Board president Corey Mueller said the district needs to balance paying salaries that are competitive with neighboring districts while also being financially responsible to taxpayers.
■ Board members approved the CESA 10 Environmental Services Contract of $6,172 for 2025-2026
■ The following teachers were hired for the 2025-26 school year: Nate Grefe as high school counselor, Courtney Bittner for middle school social studies, Alyssa Drake for high school consumer science, Lindsey Meyer for high school ELA and Jennifer Olmstead for fourth grade. Keith Kalepp will be a physical education student teacher for PK-12th grades for the first semester of next school year. Hailey Chapel will be a student intern for fourth grade during the first semester of the 2025-26 school year. The board also hired Cindy Wasmundt as part-time custodian.
■ District bookkeeper Morgan Mueller provided the school board with a quarterly finance report.
“As of right now, it looks like we will have a balanced budget at the end of this school year like we thought we would,” she said.
Mueller said the district’s 12.5 percent increase in health insurance equates to a $115,000 increase for the 2025-26 school year. She said the district will also see a $126,000 increase in special education costs, which is a little steeper than in the past. Mueller said the 2.95 percent increase in teacher pay for the 2025-26 results in a $114,000 increase for the district.
“Overall, right now we are looking at a budget deficit of $113,000 next school year,” Mueller said. “There are a lot more factors to come into play between now and October.”
Mueller told the school board that the high school chemical lab will be renovated this summer. She said CESA 10 planned to remove asbestos from the lab on April 23.
“Just a reminder that a few things have already been done to the chem lab already, like a new door was put on when other doors were put on in that west wing, and the ceiling and lighting have already been done,” Mueller said. “The big tasks will be the flooring, asbestos abatement and cabinetry, so that should be one beautiful project by the time it is ready to go in September.”
Mueller said the district needs to purchase a new lawn mower but she was happy to report that all the roofs on the school buildings have been updated. She said all open jobs have been filled for next school year except for a high school science teacher position.
