The Texas State Teachers Association has initiated a statewide petition drive to provide school employees and their families with state-paid health insurance coverage. The petition is being circulated throughout the Brownsville Independent School District. TSTA officials are concerned that many school employees cannot afford health insurance for their families, said Royce Gourley, president the Association of Brownsville Educators. A recent TSTA survey revealed that insurance companies raised rates in 74 percent of the state s 973 K-12 districts this year.
Insurance is the district s second biggest expense, after salaries.
The TSTA survey also showed that 77 percent of the state s K-12 districts raised family premiums this year. BISD pays 100 percent of employees premiums and part of the family premiums. Teachers, administrators and hourly workers have the same plan. But while he carries insurance on his wife and children, many BISD employees can t afford it. Gisela Blanco, a computer lab assistant at Porter, has no insurance for her two children.