Employee Benefits

Colchester Public Schools offers a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) to its staff. An HDHP is a health insurance plan with a higher deductible and lower monthly premiums. It’s designed to give you more control over your health care spending, and it can be paired with a Health Savings Account (HSA) — a tax-advantaged account that helps you save for medical expenses. Our current insurance provider is Anthem.

Important Information:

• The insurance year runs from July 1 through June 30.

• Open Enrollment takes place at the start of June, when you can make changes to your health insurance coverage for the upcoming plan year.

• You may also make changes to your insurance coverage throughout the year if you experience a qualifying life event, including:

  • Birth or adoption of a child

  • Marriage

  • Divorce

  • Loss of current health coverage

Any change to your health insurance can be made through our self-service portal: PPI

A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a separate, tax-advantaged bank account that you open to save money for qualified medical expenses, like doctor visits, prescriptions, dental, and vision care. It’s available to employees enrolled in a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP).

Funds in an HSA:

• Are tax-free when contributed and when used for qualified medical expenses

• Roll over year to year — there’s no “use it or lose it” rule

• Can be invested and grow over time, making it a smart way to save for future healthcare costs

Important: You must open and maintain your own HSA bank account to receive contributions from Colchester Public Schools. The district contributes to this account each year to help you save.

Colchester Public Schools offers an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) — a free, confidential resource available to all staff and their immediate family members. The EAP can help with a wide range of personal and professional challenges, including stress, mental health, family concerns, legal or financial questions, and more. Support is available 24/7, and services are completely confidential.

For more information or to learn how to access services, please take a look at the following slide presentation: Employee Assistance Program

To visit the EAP website directly go to: https://nis.lifeworks.com/home

In partnership with Little People’s Play Place Too, Colchester Public Schools introduced an on-site childcare program at Colchester Elementary School in Fall 2024. This program is designed to support our staff by offering convenient, high-quality childcare that follows the Colchester Public Schools calendar, so you only pay for the care you need. The center serves children from 6 weeks to 6 years old and includes a Pre-K program focused on Kindergarten readiness.

Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday, 6:30 AM – 4:30 PM

For more information about enrollment, rates, and availability, please contact Little People’s Play Place Too directly at littlepeoplesplayplacetoo@gmail.com

As part of Connecticut’s efforts to support educators, the Teacher’s Mortgage Assistance Program offers eligible teachers below-market interest rate mortgage loans through the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA). This program is designed to help teachers in shortage areas — achieve homeownership.

To learn more about eligibility requirements, participating lenders, and how to apply, visit CHFA.

A Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) allows you to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible dependent care expenses, such as daycare, preschool, summer camps, and before- or after-school care for children under 13, as well as care for dependent adults who are unable to care for themselves. Colchester Public Schools provides access to DFSA through Progressive Benefit Solutions (PBS).

Funds in an FSA:

• Are contributed from your paycheck pre-tax, helping you save money on care expenses.

• Require you to pay for expenses upfront and submit receipts to PBS for reimbursement.

• Must be used within the plan year — this is a “use it or lose it” account.

• Run on a plan year from January 1 to December 31, unlike our insurance year, so open enrollment occurs in early December.

Per Board of Education policy, children of non-resident, full-time Colchester Public Schools staff members may attend Colchester Public Schools (grades K-12) free of charge, with the written approval of the Superintendent of Schools following a formal written request.

For more information, please refer to the posted Board of Education Policy #3240 or reach out to the Superintendent's Office.