Negotiators working on a new contract for Lawrence teachers today will get a big dose of reality regarding health insurance costs.

Members of Lawrence Education Assn. and representatives of the school board meet at 4:30 p.m. in district headquarters for a report on a projected 19 percent increase in health insurance premiums for the 2003-2004 school year.

“It’s a huge increase,” said Kathy Johnson, the district’s budget director.

It would cost the district $916,000 just to maintain a policy of offering free health-insurance to individual educators.

Employees in the district’s family plan would see premiums increase by at least $100 a month.

Last year, the district switched health carriers and kicked in $500,000 in an attempt to hold down costs for staff in the district.

For more on this story, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Journal-World.