Rib Lake reduces insurance increase with change

Employees in Rib Lake Schools will see insurance changes in the coming year. At the April 16 meeting, school board members voted to make the switch from Aspirus to Security Health Plan.

The Rib Lake School District is part of a health insurance cooperative with other small districts working together to get better rates. According to district administrator Travis Grubbs, the cooperative had decided to go out to bid because Aspirus has offered a 12% increase which was the maximum the contract would give. Grubbs noted the cooperative is about 35% over utilization which led to the rate increase.

Grubbs noted that Anthem, WCA and WPS all declined to quote on the insurance stating they could not compete with what Aspirus could offer. Security Health Plan (SHP) did quote with a policy that would give an 8% overall increase for Rib Lake staff next year and a maximum of a 12% increase the following year.

Currently the district has two tiers of plans with Aspirus with an Aspirus-only plan and a broader network plan that allows employees to go to other places. Under the current employee handbook language, the district funds the lower-cost Aspirus- only option and allows employees to buy up to the more expensive plan.

While SHP offers a similar two-tier plan option with a Marshfield Clinic-only or a broad plan, Grubbs noted that with Rib Lake firmly in an area with only Aspirus providers, that it did not make sense to push the majority of employees to a Marshfield Clinic-only plan. Instead, the board voted to change the handbook language and fund both the narrow and broad plans at the 87.4% rate. He noted the price difference between the two options wasn’t significant. He anticipated that 99% of employees would stay with their established providers.

“We don’t have a Marshfield Clinic in Taylor County,” Grubbs said.

In other insurance business, board members approved renewing the dental insurance with Delta Dental with no increase in the premium.

Construction updates

With spring weight limits projected to come off the roads next week, construction mobilization will begin in earnest.

The parking lot between the middle and high schools will be fenced off with a pathway set for students to go from one building to another. The construction start will impact student drop-off and pickup.

In the morning both buses and parents will drop off along North St. in front of the schools. In the afternoon, buses will pick up in front of the Middle School and parents are asked to go up West St. and pick up in front of the high school and exit going down Front St. Grubbs urges everyone to use additional caution when going to and from the schools due to the construction projects.

In addition, the district is looking at scraping the existing soil off the hockey rink area which had been a parking lot in the past. This can expose existing gravel and reduce the amount that is needed to be hauled to the parking lot during construction.

• In other construction related business, Grubbs reported that the district received a $10,000 grant from Taylor County’s Powerline Impact Fee Fund for the track project and the district will be receiving a $36,000 grant for community fitness equipment.

• In other business, board members:

• Received an update on the 2025-2026 budget. It is in its preliminary stages right now. Grubbs said the new budget reflects $43,000 in lost revenue from the federal school forest funds as well as increases in insurance and a CPI increase for wages. There will also be changes in the budget related to the construction and financing of the referendum project as well as with behind the wheel drivers instruction fees going into Fund 80 rather than the districts general instruction budget. Much of the budget remains preliminary and is dependent on the state budget.

• Approved a bus contract with Bartelt for 4% increase per route next year and a percent increase the following year.

• Accepted Dan Winkler’s withdrawn resignation. He will return next year as High School Special Education teacher. Cassandra Nicks was approved as Kindergarten teacher and Nicole Van Luven was hired for middle school special education.