Picayune College Board chooses new Employee’s Compensation protection coverage – Picayune Merchandise

The Picayune School District will have a new Workers Compensation Agency starting January.

The Picayune School Board of Trustees on Friday approved a quote from a new aviation company by four to one. CEO Frank Ford voted against accepting the quote.

The worker’s compensation offer, which will begin in January, was recommended by the Mississippi School Board Association for an annual price of $ 306,898 by Superintendent Dean Shaw.

The district’s Worker’s Compensation Director, Matthew Lee, said he had contacted several other school districts that use MSBA and they were happy with the service.

“One of the hallmarks of the Mississippi School Board Association is that they are school-based and school-specific. It’s something we don’t see with a lot of other airlines and none of the others we have experience with, ”said Lee.

MSBA is an airline serving 58 school districts. The district will be with MSBA by October 1st.

Ford said he did not want to move the district to a self-insured fund. He was also frustrated believing the local insurance agent, who had previously worked with the school district, did not have the opportunity to submit a bid.

Shaw and finance director Lisa Persick said the district reached out to the agent and received no response when they needed offers. Ford said the explanation they made was “Malarkey”.

Ford asked the board members to review a letter from the local agent before casting their votes, which they did.

“Our worker comp is out of control,” said Ford.

The district has over 650 employees and had 14 incidents in 2020, 11 of which were medical.

Worker compensation claims have fallen a bit with the pandemic, Lee said of the item he attributes to social distancing.

“Students don’t necessarily come into close contact with each other or with their teachers that often. These are things that usually lead to higher expectations when a young child interacts with someone and trips them, ”said Lee.