Bryan ISD considers employee health plan changes amid $5M employee benefits shortfall

Bryan ISD is considering changes to its employee health plans as the district works to address a current $5 million shortfall in its employee benefits fund.

The school board reviewed potential health plan options during its Aug. 17 meeting. No action was taken.

The gist

CFO Norma Friddle said the district has been operating on a deficit with employee health benefits for years. The deficit increased by nearly $700,000 from 2025 to 2026.

Friddle said the district could add another $1.4 million to its negative position by the end of the year if current trends continue.

“Medical costs continue to rise faster than our premiums and employee contributions, so we need to start making some meaningful adjustments on both sides on how the plan is funded and how the plan is used,” Friddle said.

Friddle attributed the deficit to rising medical costs and the district covers a larger share of health plan costs than some similarly sized districts. She said BISD needs recurring revenue and employee education to solve the overall problem.

The breakdown

The district's presentation showed it would not make design changes to the preferred provider organization plans, but would look into increasing the out-of-network deductible.

Friddle said the district has around 99% in-network utilization, meaning a proposed change would have a limited effect on most employees.

Bryan ISD outlined in its presentation that increasing contribution would lead to a reduced general fund and would require savings elsewhere.

Despite budget shortfalls in other Texas school districts, Bryan ISD is set to have a balanced budget for the 2026-27 school year, even with decreasing property values and enrollment. As previously reported by Community Impact, more than 86% of the budget went toward instruction.

What the board is saying

Trustee David Stasny said Bryan ISD needs to be fiscally responsible if the district wants the health plans to be preserved and not affected by an increasing deficit.

“We need to do as much as we can with the understanding that there’s going to be a shock to the employees,” Stasny said. “It’s going to be a shock to go up that much, but you’ve [Friddle] already given us the reasons why.”

Stasny also said the district has likely not received as much of a contribution from its employees as it could have.

“Healthcare costs keep going up. I hate to say it, but it’s the reality and we certainly can’t keep treading water,” he said. “I think we have to be pretty aggressive with this, because as far as we know, one option might only cover the increasing costs.”

What’s next?

The board did not take any action, but according to the timeline in the presentation, final rates and plan changes are expected to be presented during the Sept. 14 meeting.