Dear Team DPS,
At DPS, we are committed to helping employees feel supported as we work together professionally to support our students. Central to this commitment is ensuring we offer a Total Rewards package that meets the varying needs of all DPS employees and their families.
To achieve this -- and to address the challenges of rising health care costs and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic -- DPS is taking steps to ensure health insurance is affordable and accessible to all employees. Health care premiums are what employees pay in each paycheck toward the cost of benefits. Starting in August 2022, all full-time employees at DPS will have access to free employee coverage with our new Motiv Health plan.
Using savings from our Central Office restructure, DPS is investing $2.5 million toward employee benefits to make our health plans more affordable. This investment provides a competitive and comprehensive benefits package for all employees.
Some highlighted savings include:
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All employees covering dependent children would see a $40/month premium reduction.
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All employees covering a spouse/partner would see a $100/month premium reduction.
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All employees with family coverage would see a $140/month premium reduction.
Note: Employees will continue to receive the $193.50/month that they currently are receiving for Employee+Child(ren) and Employee+Family coverage.
Premium reductions will begin on your Aug. 7, 2022 paycheck following a new enrollment period, which will reopen July 1-15. More information about changing your benefit elections can be found here.
Other recent benefit highlights include:
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DPS’ transition to self-funded benefits in 2020 and subsequent efforts to reduce the cost of health premiums. Rates would be 28% higher for next school year if we were still fully insured.
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Addition of the MotivHealth medical plan -- a no-cost offering available for 2022-23.
- Enhanced efforts to offset costs through benefit credits, medical subsidies and HSA contributions.
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Improved sick and leave policies that provide sick time to even more employees, including hourly employees and bus drivers.
Our Total Rewards strategy at DPS is to place our employees at or above market when compared to other school districts in Colorado. As demonstrated with this investment, DPS also recognizes that it is important to remain competitive in other forms of employee compensation such as health care, paid time off, insurance options and retirement. While these highlights demonstrate our focus on continual improvement, we recognize that supporting our employees is an ongoing and collaborative effort. We look forward to partnering with Team DPS to ensure we benefit you in ways that matter most.
Sincerely,
Edwin Hudson
Chief of Talent
