PASADENA, Texas – Pasadena ISD has scrapped a health insurance proposal that could have created a major financial setback for employees, but the district’s workforce is making clear the fight is not over.
The proposal, which would have switched employees to TRS ActiveCare beginning in January, was removed from Tuesday night’s board meeting agenda just hours before the meeting was set to begin. Employees say they learned about the plan only two days before the scheduled vote.
KPRC 2 News reporter Corley Peel was inside the meeting, where emotions ran high as employees and family members shared what the proposal would have meant for their families.
Teacher Jessica Wheat spoke about the stakes for workers at every level of the district.
“For many of us, health insurance is not simply a benefit listed in our employment package. It determines whether our families can afford medical care, whether our children can see a doctor, and whether we can continue to support our households financially,” Wheat said.
One employee’s husband, Jacob Valadares, spoke on behalf of his wife who has cancer.
“When she told me about this proposal of increasing your insurance, she started crying at night. She has cancer. She has something that she needs to pay for. It’s life or death, and y’all play with it like it’s just a joke,” Valadares said.
Special education paraprofessional Nicole DeLeon, a single mother earning $23,000 a year, said the proposed increase would have forced her to go without medical care entirely. Under the proposal, her monthly premium would have jumped from approximately $110 to $455.
“I’m paying about $110 that’s taken out of two paychecks and so it was going to jump to $455,” DeLeon said.
Superintendent Dr. Toni Lopez addressed the room and issued a direct apology to staff.
“I understand that many of you are frustrated, not only by the proposal itself, but also how the information was communicated, and as your superintendent, I take responsibility for that,” Lopez said.
Not everyone was satisfied by the apology. DeLeon questioned the district’s motives for pulling the plan at the last minute.
“I felt like it was sort of a damage control situation,” she said.
For now, the district says it is keeping its current self-funded health insurance plan and plans to present new premium options to employees next week. Board President, Casey Phelan, acknowledged that questions remain.
“We may not have all the answers tonight, but we will be working to find solutions,” Phelan said.
Some employees have already filed Texas Public Information Act requests seeking answers about the rushed proposal and when the district began working on the change.
The district says the proposal came because it is spending more on employee health care than its insurance fund is bringing in. How the district plans to address that financial gap while protecting employees remains an open question.
Superintendent Lopez promised monthly updates on the health plan and other district challenges.
