Sunday, July 15, 2007
HESPERIA, Jul. 15, 2007 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) --
School board members within Hesperia Unified are given a perk not offered to teachers -- serve 12 years and get paid health insurance until the age of 65.
This perk is not offered in other local school districts.
' I f t h e y want to save t h i s d i s -- trict money maybe they should start with cutting the fat from t h e i r p e rsonal perks,' H e s p e r i a parent Kelly Morse said. 'These are elected officials. Why are they milking us for health insurance?'
Districts including Victor Valley Union, Victor Elementary, Adelanto and Apple Valley all offer paid health coverage to board members during their term. The costs range from $35,000 to $57,500 annually for each district.
Hesperia is the only district that offers the perk after the board member is no longer serving.
This leaves many wondering about the logic.
'No way is this fair to the teachers,' Hesperia parent Denny Parks said. 'How are our elected officials entitled to more than those they supposedly serve?'
District legal counsel and spokesman Tristan Pelayes said the perk is nothing more than an additional form of compensation.
'These are volunteer members. The amount of hours they put in are incredible. It's a way of compensating them for the hours they put in,' he said.
School board members are elected officials who receive monthly salaries for their efforts. In Hesperia, board members receive between $460 and $480 a month.
At this time, no board members are eligible for this perk, with the longest standing member having served only since 2003.
One district that doesn't offer paid health coverage to its board members is Helendale. It also has no intention of implementing this perk anytime soon.
'That's a little bit extravagant,' said Helendale board president Herm Englehardt. 'I don't think anything like that would ever get passed by our board.'
Helendale's school district is also one of the more healthier districts in terms of being fiscally sound with consistently high state and federal test scores.
By not offering special perks to board members, residents believe their board's intentions are noble, parent Cathy Garcia of Helendale said.
'We know they're there for our kids and nothing more,' she said. 'There's no motivation for running for this board other than to do what's right for our kids.'
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