$3,000,000 Health Plan Deficit Stuns School District Officials
By Lea Juarez | October 18, 2026
Sharyland ISD’s health insurance fund is in a $3 million deficit following a series of high claims from the last two to three months.
Administration said SISD’s insurance advisor Valley Risk Consulting didn’t warn the district before the loss grew to its current level, leaving staff and the board of trustees blindsided.
Trustee Maritza Venecia, one of the more vocal board members on district finances, was noticeably upset during the insurance discussion at the September board of trustees meeting. She asked Chief Operations Officer Mark Dougherty for details.
“It was brought to the attention of the board of finance that we have a major insurance issue, essentially,” she said. “Can you add some color to that just so we can have that discussion in public of what that looks like?”
Dougherty explained that staff combed through the available reports and found a sudden increase in claims ranging from $40,000 to $60,000 from various plan members.
“In reviewing bills, we’re seeing that there’s a lot of facility charges,” Dougherty said. “So we are getting a lot of employees that are spending time in the hospital for various reasons. And so it’s just a lot of those claims that we didn’t anticipate, the utilization we didn’t anticipate.”
He explained that the district doesn’t receive bills until about two to three weeks after an employee uses their health insurance. Still, the consultant did not alert the district of the increase in claims after SISD closed its books in June at the end of the fiscal year. Dougherty said the staff was stunned when they received the insurance reports for the following months.
Venecia clarified that she was not upset with district administration, but questioned why Valley Risk Consulting wouldn’t notify the district beforehand.
“I just don’t understand how somebody didn’t just yell, yell it out to us,” the trustee said. “And correct me if I’m wrong, my expectation of our consultant is that their group would do that and scream it from the highest mountain because this is catastrophic to our budget.”
Venecia continued, stating that she was “very disappointed” in the vendor.
“I fear that if you’re that far in arrears, and we’re still in arrears, and finding information like this is just the tip of the iceberg, and it still could be compoundingly catastrophic,” she said. “And I just want to make sure that the organization that should have helped us, that should have rang the bell, that should have told us, ‘Hey, guys, this tidal wave is coming,’ is held accountable for this because this isn’t OK. None of it’s OK.”
Sharyland ISD has a $30,000 contract with Valley Risk Consulting that they renew annually. However, SISD’s Communications & Creative Services Officer Nancy Barboza later confirmed via text message that the district will terminate the contract as of Oct. 30.
Superintendent Dr. Elaine Howard said the district already requested billing and itemization from Valley Risk Consulting, and an understanding of their reconciliation process.
Board President Hector Rivera said he’s concerned about the monthly billings coming down the pipeline. But Board Vice President Julio Cerda feels a little more optimistic that the claim numbers will go down.
“The only thing I see as a pattern is most of us, including myself, we usually take the summer to kind of take care of business with the doctor,” he said.
The trustees also wanted to clarify that the increase in claims is not an employee issue, and they want to continue providing all the resources that district staff need.
“I want to make sure that our employees understand that we want to provide the best medical care that we can provide for them. And that none of this has to do with them seeking care,” Venecia said. “This is just more of an information gap for us so that we can make the right decision. We were not given the appropriate information to make the right decision that’s best for our employees, that’s best for the district and, really, the best for the institution as a whole financially.”
Sharyland is looking for a new consultant to replace the one they fired – Independent Employee Benefits… · Sharyland ISD | Due Nov 10, 2026