Initial reactions are varied among area education officials in the wake of a recently unveiled Ventura County grand jury report that examines healthcare benefits among the county’s 22 school districts.

The grand jury released “The Half Billion Dollar Elephant in Our Schools’ Closets” on June 11, and it’s given each district 90 days to respond to the findings and recommendations.

The report states that 17 of the 22 school districts in Ventura County have unfunded liabilities as part of their healthcare benefit plans, leading to a stern warning by the grand jury in the opening summary of the document.

“The grand jury concluded that the substantial unfunded retiree healthcare benefit liabilities, combined with the funding reductions for the state of California, and the steady decline in enrollment over the past five years create a serious financial dilemma for the county school districts and should no longer be ignored,” the report said.

The grand jury concluded its investigation with eight recommendations, ranging from prefunding benefit plans to calling upon all 22 districts to act as one bargaining unit when selecting health plans for employees.

Conejo Valley Unified School District wasted little time getting up to speed on the report.

Two days before officially taking over as the district’s new superintendent, Jeff Baarstad presented the findings to the CVUSD Board of Education during its June 29 meeting.

“I think we’re in an okay place,” said Baarstad, who nonetheless agreed with the grand jury’s recommendation about becoming more proactive in funding the district’s plan.

“I think in the future, whenever funding gets restored (by the state), that we need to start moving toward pre-funding some of that,” he said.

The numbers attributed to CVUSD in the report are correct, Baarstad said, and they paint a picture that the district— which covers retired employees only until age 65, and doesn’t cover dependents—is in much better shape than some of its county brethren.

“The liability rests in three different school districts that have lifetime health benefits,” Baarstad said. “In the case of the county school districts’ retirement benefits, most of the districts don’t have a major liability.”

According to the report, CVUSD’s annual required contribution checks in at just 0.73 percent of its annual operating budget.

“Our liability is among the smallest in the county when it’s compared to the size of our budget and the number of employees that we have,” Baarstad said.

Simi Valley Unified School District is one of the two districts whose liability percentage is smaller. SVUSD spends just 0.51 percent of its annual operating budget. However, SVUSD officials said changes are already being proposed to help curb rising healthcare costs, and the Simi Educators Association— the union representing SVUSD teachers—is on board.

“In the past, employees have not had to pay anything into premiums,” said Lowell Schultze, SVUSD’s associate superintendent of business and facilities. “Starting next year, the employees will have to start paying . . . a small amount.”

Also, the district will no longer cover spouses who can get medical insurance from their employer for less than $250 per month.

“We’re trying to keep as many of the benefits for employees as possible, but also keep the cost down,” Schultze said.

Not all area school districts have been so quick to address the report.

Moorpark Unified School District won’t formally tackle the topic until its next board of education meeting Aug. 17.

The grand jury published a massive $332-million price tag for MUSD’s estimated projected healthcare benefit costs for currently active employees and retirees over the next 30 years— the largest amount in the county after Oxnard Union High School District.

But MUSD Superintendent Ellen Smith chose to focus on a different figure.

“The projected cost for retiree health benefits is $24 million over 30 years,” said Smith via e-mail. “The steep cost increases of health benefits for all employees (actives and retirees) are a cause of great concern to employers across the nation. That is why there are continuing efforts in place to reform the U.S. healthcare system.

“Moorpark Unified has been working productively with our employee associations for a number of years to address and reduce the district’s unfunded liability for retiree health benefits,” Smith said via e-mail.

The complete grand jury report is available online at grandjury.countyofventura.org.