Wanted: High-Quality, Affordable Health Insurance For Teachers

by Stephen Staysniak

Daylight hours are getting shorter and 2025 is dwindling — so is the opportunity for public school teachers like me to get a fair contract.

Our union, the New Haven Federation of Teachers (NHFT), is in the final days of contract negotiations with the NHPS Board of Education. With one bargaining session left, the issue of teachers’ health insurance has yet to be resolved. Without an agreement on health insurance, other issues like salary, caps on overall case-loads for special education, and class size, all of which are critical elements of our contract for both students and educators, cannot be finalized. 

NHFT has proposed moving teachers onto a state health insurance program called the CT Partnership Plan 2.0. This high-quality, affordable health insurance covers over 17,000 teachers across 52 districts in Connecticut, including Bridgeport, New London, and West Haven. Last spring, in a survey of 1,458 NHFT members (over 80 percent of total membership) issued in preparation for contract negotiations, a super-majority listed health insurance as a top priority. Our proposal responds to this concern and follows the lead of other districts across the state who prioritize affordable, sustainable health insurance.  

As a teacher in my 15th year with NHPS, a fair contract that includes the CT Partnership Plan means health insurance my colleagues and I can actually afford. For years, unpredictable insurance increases and dangerously high deductibles have driven excellent teachers away from New Haven, including from my own school, Metropolitan Business Academy. This year marked a new low — premiums jumped so much that hundreds of teachers saw their paychecks go down, despite moving up a step on our salary schedule. Hard earned raises should remain in hard working educators’ pockets.

As a New Haven Public Schools parent, a fair contract that includes the CT Partnership Plan means my kids at Edgewood, and all kids in New Haven, can go to schools where their teachers have a greater sense of stability when it comes to our medical care. When teachers can take care of their health and wellbeing, that means more consistency for students, classrooms, and school communities. A high school social studies teacher delaying appointments because they haven’t met their deductible, a K-8 music teacher skipping therapy appointments because they can’t afford the co-pays, a social worker unable to afford a recommended procedure because our current plan doesn’t fully cover the cost of care — these are the realities my fellow members are facing. Our union has found a way out of the stress and pain of a plan that no longer works for us. A fair contract that includes the CT Partnership Plan means our city is making a real commitment to retaining and attracting the talented, effective teachers our students deserve.

The dark days are here. But a turn towards a brighter future is possible with a fair contract that includes the CT Partnership Plan.

Join us in making this possibility a reality. Contact the mayor and your alder to tell them a fair contract that includes the CT Partnership Plan is right for our teachers, students and community. And stand with NHFT at the next Board of Education meeting on Monday, Dec. 8 as we continue to fight for a fair contract and the schools our community deserves. 

Stephen Staysniak is teaches journalism, New Haven History and a senior capstone course called Youth Justice in Practice at Metropolitan Business Academy and a member of the New Haven Federation of Teachers union.