“The Texas Life and Health Counselors License that WISD required is not necessary, Broussard said, and only excluded competent firms from applying since only 524 firms statewide have the license. ”
“However, Mark Goulet, the board attorney’s with Walsh, Anderson, Brown, Gallegos and Green PC, out of Austin, said the license is required, although it is not very common to have in the state.”
WILLIS – The mundane search for a health insurance consultant turned into a heated debate for Willis Independent School District board trustees Wednesday night.
After more than an hour of discussion and in a split vote, the WISD Board of Trustees approved Willis of Texas as the district’s 2011-12 health insurance consultant. Trustees Robin Sproba, Cliff Williams, Beverly Vornsand and Sue Ann Powell voted in favor of the motion. Voting against the motion were trustees Rebecca Broussard and Elizabeth McKenna. Trustee Christen Arnold abstained.
The three firms considered and interviewed were Bancorp Insurance Services Inc. of Louisiana, PeopleManage Pro from The Woodlands and Willis of Texas out of Houston.
“Based on this committee’s many hours of work … we strongly recommend the board approve Willis of Texas as the health insurance consultant,” said Sproba, who headed up a six-member search committee consisting of a cross section of WISD staff.
However, Broussard, board president, disagreed with the committee’s recommendation and questioned the evaluation process used, at one point asking not to be interrupted.
“The best in the business outside of Montgomery County isn’t always the best for Willis ISD,” Broussard passionately said.
The search committee based its evaluation on: 50 percent experience with school districts, 20 percent capabilities, 20 percent personnel, 5 percent locally owned/operated and 5 percent other factors, such as references and customer service, Sproba said.
Willis of Texas scored 497.5 out of a possible 600 based on the evaluation criteria. Bancorp scored 361 and PeopleManage Pro scored 306.
Headquartered out of Louisiana, Bancorp Insurance Services Inc. is too far away to offer the service desired and the company did not have the required license at the time, Sproba said. PeopleManage Pro is locally owned and had innovative ideas, but limited school district experience and also did not have the required license at the time, Sproba said. Both firms now have a Texas Life and Health Counselors License.
With a Houston office, Willis of Texas is close enough to provide the face time the district wants, has strong school district experience and is the third-largest company in its industry worldwide, Sproba said. The firm already had the license.
The Texas Life and Health Counselors License that WISD required is not necessary, Broussard said, and only excluded competent firms from applying since only 524 firms statewide have the license.
However, Mark Goulet, the board attorney’s with Walsh, Anderson, Brown, Gallegos and Green PC, out of Austin, said the license is required, although it is not very common to have in the state.
“This is a distinct license for someone providing advice versus a product live,” Goulet said.
Location should have played a stronger role in the evaluation, Broussard said. With the company the district had the last 20 years, employees never saw representatives due to distance.
“We wanted someone who was going to come to the campus and talk to them about the best insurance for them and the best bang for the buck,” Broussard said. “… We need to quit looking outside Montgomery County. We need to keep our money in Montgomery County.”
She pushed for PeopleManage Pro to “have a shot” at WISD’s business since the company had worked for a year without any payment from WISD, she said. The company came to WISD roughly a year ago asking to look over the district’s insurance to see if they could find something better for employees.
“No, they don’t have a bunch of big schools, but they know insurance and they know what’s best for Willis ISD,” Broussard said of PeopleManage Pro.
Sproba agreed that location is important.
“I would love to give the business to a local company,” Sproba said about PeopleManage Pro. “We need to give it to a Montgomery County business. However, with this instance, it’s too much of a risk.”
Powell also raised concern regarding PeopleManage Pro since previously the firm presented information with a repeated typo and there was confusion regarding a Texas district that PeopleManage Pro worked with.
“It’s things like that that I’m concerned a small company does not have the employees to handle the small details in the district,” Powell said about the firm only having four full-time employees.
A few months ago, WISD worked with Willis of Texas and PeopleManage Pro for advice regarding the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, WISD Superintendent Bret Jimerson said after Broussard questioned him about why the district contacted Willis of Texas for assistance. Those discussions were confined solely to TRS and ceased when WISD did not choose TRS.
“We wanted the best advice we could get in the shortest amount of time,” Jimerson said.
Broussard also pointed to the expense a company would cost the district in the future. However, the committee was taxed with determining the best firm based on qualifications, not price, Sproba said, adding the committee acted on advice from the board’s attorney. A price will be negotiated before a contract is signed.
“If we cannot negotiate a contract at fair market price, we can throw them out,” Sproba said.
With a consultant approved, the next step is to negotiate a contract, Sproba said. Once that is done, the firm will review the district’s current plan before making a recommendation for a new plan by Sept. 1.
