School districts lack $1 billion to pay retiree health benefits, grand jury says
Published: Tuesday, May. 11, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Tuesday, May. 11, 2010 - 12:16 am
Twelve of Sacramento County's 13 school districts don't have enough money in their coffers to pay the health benefits promised future retirees and are not setting aside money to pay for them, according to a grand jury report released Monday.
Collectively, the county's school districts have a staggering $1 billion in unfunded retiree health benefits, according to the report.
School officials are effectively ignoring the mounting debt, the report concludes, and barring a drastic change of course, could end up bankrupting their districts or stiffing retirees on health benefits.
"Who is going to tell retired teachers that they have lost their health benefits or tell students and their families that there is no money for school programs?" asked Rosemary Kelley, grand jury forewoman, in a letter accompanying the report.
A Bee analysis published earlier this month found that, over the past five years, most large school districts in the region saw their employee benefit costs – including retiree health care – rise faster than the statewide average. Yet many local districts pay less toward those costs, on a per-student basis, than is typical for California.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/05/11/2741385/school-districts-lack-1-billion.html#ixzz0ndD9ny44