When it came to picking a health care provider, Killeen Independent School District employee Laura Dunnells did her homework.

I agonized. I researched, said Dunnells, an assistant principal at Cedar Valley Elementary School.

Dunnells was one of 2,900 district employees who cast votes to indicate which provider they would prefer for the current school year. Just more than 1,000 of those employees voted for TRS ActiveCare, a health care program run by the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.

But the school board didnt agree.

Four members of the districts board of trustees Shelley Wells, JoAnn Purser, Ken Ray and Susan Jones voted instead to select another provider, Blue Cross Blue Shield, during a Sept. 26 meeting.

Their decision was met with a strong reaction from employees, who said premiums under ActiveCare would be cheaper. District employees said they will have to pay hundreds of dollars more every month under Blue Cross Blue Shield.

ActiveCare actually allows employees to get insurance through a number of providers under its umbrella, including Blue Cross Blue Shield. Comparisons of similar plans showed that TRS Blue Cross Blue Shield coverage was still a cheaper option.

Broker fees

The vote for Blue Cross Blue Shield also means that a local insurance agency, Killeen-based Bigham Kliewer Chapman & Watts, will likely get thousands of dollars in fees from Blue Cross Blue Shield. The Killeen insurance company has been doing business with the board for the past 10 years.

William Kliewer, a former school board member who ended his time on the board in 2005, is a managing partner with the company. Killeen ISD documents show that another managing partner, Ken Chapman, conducted business with the board on behalf of the company.

Read more:

KISD health care decision draws ire of teachers