Schools

CT Superintendent To Congress: Obamacare Means Higher Budgets, Fewer Teachers

Meriden School Superintedent Mark D. Benigni told Congress last week that the Affordable Care Act will lead to staff cuts unless the law is changed.

Meriden Superintendent of Schools Mark Benigni had a message for Congress last week: the Affordable Care Act increases costs to schools across the country and will lead to staff cuts unless it is changed.

The Record-Journal reports that Beningni testified before Congress last week on behalf of the American Association of School Administrators, saying that the new law increases costs for schools. Specifically, he said that Meriden would pay $150,000 in taxes under the new law - enough to fund two teaching positions - and potentially cost the district another $1.2 million to pay for health insurance for employees who only work 30 hours a week, according to the newspaper.

“At a time when student needs are increasing, budgets are shrinking and state and federal mandates escalating, we cannot effectively sustain these significant health care expenses,” Benigni told the 41-member U.S. House of Representatives Education and Workforce Committee last week, according to The Record-Journal.“This will cause us to cut staff, reduce programs, minimize current healthcare plans, cut employee hours and consider outsourcing current services. It will be our students who lose out.”

Find out what's happening in South Windsorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here