Health Costs Strain School Budgets

By Joetta L. Sack

The rising cost of health insurance is leaving less money for school facilities maintenance, teaching positions, technology upgrades, and districts' ability to comply with the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

At least that is the word from hundreds of school business officials, who picked health-insurance costs as their top budget concern in a recent survey by the Association of School Business Officials International.

The cost of insuring employees is outpacing increases—if there are any—in state and local budgets that remain hobbled by an uneven economy. Many of the administrators surveyed believe that the trend is directly affecting the quality...