School Budgets

This past Sunday our local newspaper had a story about how the public school system here has a growing budget shortfall. The story detailed where the money gets spend each year and I had assumed that technology costs were adding to their costs, but actually the biggest culprit is the cost of benefits for teachers. If you read between the lines, that mean healthcare. It made me realize that the escalating cost of healthcare is having a ripple effect in ways that I did not suspect. The situation is putting pressure on school officials and they are asking for tax increases to cover the rising cost of healthcare for teachers. I work for a small company and we have had to switch health insurance providers twice in the last three years. I don't think that swithing insurance poviders is a long term solution, but we have few other choices. Unfortunately I think the situation is going to get worse before it gets better. Paying property taxes and insurance feels like paying rent. I guess that's because I am old enough to remember when things like insurance and healthcare were affordable.