Pinellas schools, teachers union reach health insurance agreement
Tampa Bay Times | By: Henry Fernandez | August 6, 2026
The Pinellas County school district and the unions that represent district employees have come to an agreement on health insurance plans for 2027.
The new agreement sees sharp increases in insurance premiums for workers seeking to cover their spouses and families, with minor increases in cost for workers covering only themselves.
The 1,135 district employees paying to cover their family on the most expensive plan will see their insurance payments go up by $122 every paycheck, raising their insurance cost above $950 per month.
Workers on the cheapest spousal coverage plan would see their biweekly payment jump up by $129 for a total insurance premium of about $410 a month.
The nearly 3,400 staff covering only themselves on the most expensive plan would see a monthly increase of only about $20.
“Unfortunately, we had to take some of an increase to help prevent the district from losing its ability to be self-insured.” said Tracey McConnell, president of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association.
Pinellas is a self-insured district, meaning that it pays for its own health insurance.
McConnell said if the district lost its self-insured status, health insurance costs would rise 40%, according to documents gathered by the district.
McConnell also noted that though there are increases for teachers selecting plans that cover spouses and family, these increases are lower than in plans previously presented by the district.
“What we agreed upon is better than where we started,” she said. “But at the same time … something has to be done to make insurance more affordable for everybody.”
Increases in the price of health insurance for teachers is a national issue, said Paul Bruno, an assistant professor of education policy at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“As the cost of health insurance goes up, that becomes harder and harder for school districts to deal with,” Bruno said. “They’re increasingly doing what a lot of employers have done, which is move to a higher level of cost sharing with their employees.”
The agreement includes meetings every six weeks between Pinellas county schools and the unions that represent district employees to discuss health insurance issues.
As part of an effort to reduce health insurance costs, the district is planning to roll out in-school wellness clinics, where teachers and staff receive significantly discounted medical services. Pasco schools have had them for more than a decade, saving that district millions.
The insurance agreement is a crucial step in negotiations between the district and union ahead of the union’s upcoming vote to ratify their salary agreement.
