Price of learning: Portsmouth among state's big spenders
PORTSMOUTH — During any election year, budgets and spending are always among the hot-button topics.
At forums and in conversations with voters, School Board candidates expect the question of how to provide a quality education while sparing the taxpayer from excessive costs.
One way to determine what it costs to educate a child in Portsmouth is by looking at the state's data on per-pupil costs by district. The most current figures available from the state were released Feb. 11 and are for the 2009-10 school year. The data show that Portsmouth pays $14,621.20 per student in preschool through grade 12.
The figure is higher than the state average of $12,213.99 and other districts in the area, including Exeter Regional Cooperative at $11,580.31, Winnacunnet Cooperative at $14,172.29 and Dover at $10,085.11.
Superintendent Ed McDonough said per-pupil cost comparisons between districts are more useful when weighing similarly sized districts against one another. In a budget booklet compiled for the current year's budget, he compared the Port City, with an enrollment just above 2,600, to similarly sized school communities across the state.
The districts he selected were Governor Wentworth Regional School District in the Lakes Region, Merrimack Valley School District in Penacook, Contoocook Valley School District in Peterborough and Oyster River School District in Durham.
For 2009-10, Portsmouth was still among the highest in per-pupil cost when measured against comparable districts. Only Oyster River, at $15,503.27, had a higher per-pupil cost than Portsmouth.
McDonough said economies of scale should be factored into any comparisons between districts. There eventually comes a point at which districts get so large that costs do not rise at a comparable rate, he said. For instance, Dover, which had a population of more than 4,000 students in 2009-10, has a per-pupil cost $4,500 lower than Portsmouth, and Manchester, which had 15,813 students in 2009-10, had a per-pupil cost nearly $5,000 lower than the Port City's.
Portsmouth Health Insurance Rates - News
"Variables, such as health insurance, retirement costs, et cetera, have a significant impact on our ability to achieve both harmoniously." Candidates for School Board said it can be tricky to know how to interpret education figures such as per-pupil
The Extra program does give the retiree a 5% discount on his or her cost share. Most retirees select Tricare Prime for their coverage and must pay an ongoing premium for this “earned” benefit. Now into this medical insurance mess we toss the bane of
The Extra program does give the retiree a 5% discount on his or her cost share. Most retirees select Tricare Prime for their coverage and must pay an ongoing premium for this “earned” benefit. Now into this medical insurance mess we toss the bane of
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He saisd health insurance is also a major issue when one considers that it costs the city up to $15 million a year out of its current budget. “The fiscal issues are driving everything we do on the council,” Spear said. “On the council it is our job to
High health insurance costs a drag on N.H. businesses ...
EXETER — It's the busy season for health insurance broker Mike Foy, the chief financial officer for Foy Insurance Group. December renewal plans for employers offering group plans have gone out, and the heavy volume of January renewal plans is set to go out soon.
Foy estimated that most of his employer clients will get an increase of less than 8 percent on insurance premiums this year. It comes with a good news and bad news caveat. It's better than the consistent double-digit increase for many years of the past decade. It also represents a maximum squeezing of benefits to keep costs down.
"We're running out of options to provide our customers the ability to keep either the same coverage or under a 3 percent increase," Foy said.
It's a trend not likely to change anytime soon. According to a national survey of health plans, the average annual cost per employee grew from $9,210 in 2010 to $10,642 in 2011. The United Benefit Advisors Health Plan Survey had New Hampshire ranked the sixth most expensive state in the country for health insurance plans. Maine was just above the national average in 2011 at $8,744.
"New Hampshire is rated one of the healthiest states in the country, but it's also a costly one for employers and employees," said William Bald, the vice president of Melcher & Prescott Insurance in Laconia. The 500 clients that Bald's agency handles are seeing around a 12 percent increase. Bald said the UBA survey data covered 200 companies in New Hampshire and 34 in Maine. Overall, UBA said its national survey was created from a total of 16,421 plans from 10,744 employers.
In the annual UBA survey, the national average was $8,688 with Alaska holding the distinction of being the most expensive at $11,926. New Hampshire was one of five northeastern states that were in the top six for highest cost. New York ranked second at $11,926, Massachusetts was third ($11,004), Connecticut was fourth ($11,000) and New Jersey was fifth ($10,642).