Management fees to administer the pool have ranged from about $1.1 million to $1.4 million a year for the last decade, according to financial reports. It is a government cooperative overseen by a board of school officials and has long been run by a web of for-profit companies led by veteran insurance executive James Sandner. For more than 30 years, WCSIT has been a leading pool for schools in Illinois. There are more than 40 government pools in Illinois that handle various kinds of insurance, but only a handful deal with workers' compensation for school districts. Governments can save money on such insurance by joining together in pools that share the burden of covering claims. Workers' comp covers medical bills and other expenses when employees get hurt on the job, from employees falling to getting injured while helping young athletes. For example, Burr Ridge-based School District 181 and Glenview School District 34 were both billed almost $300,000 for premiums by WCSIT this year, while Oswego's School District 308 is paying nearly $1 million, records show. But insurance, from health to property and casualty to workers' compensation, is also a big-ticket item. Staff salaries make up most of school district budgets.
"Now, hopefully after I calmed down, I would have understood the factors involved."
"If I would have gotten a letter at this time of year, I would have been upset," Eddy said.
Pool board member Roger Eddy is a former lawmaker and downstate school superintendent who heads the Illinois Association of School Boards, a pool sponsor.Įddy said he supports WCSIT, in part, because "it provides an important option for school districts." But he said he understands the frustration of school officials who got a letter this month saying bills were on the way. In a letter to the state, one attorney called the state's efforts unprecedented and accused the state insurance director of "trying to bully" the companies that run the pool. Pool lawyers say they don't believe regulators have the authority to examine the pool's books.
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