MEDICAL COVERAGE AT ISSUE FOR FORMER SCHOOL DISTRICT TRUSTEE.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Trustees of Antelope Valley Union High School District might review the medical insurance provided to former trustee Bill Olenick since the teachers union said the district is violating state law.

A district policy that was in effect at the time Olenick retired granted the benefits to trustees who had been elected to three terms, but a state law says such benefits should be accorded to only those board members who have served 12 years.

Olenick, who retired in June 2001 because of health reasons, was elected three times but fell about five months short of serving a full 12 years.

``It needs to be looked at. We need to understand whether it was legal or illegal. We need to understand what the district's current position is as far as benefits. We may have to make a decision about it,'' trustee Al Beattie said Friday.

The policy was changed in September to specifically state that trustees have to serve 12 years to qualify for the benefits, but the previous wording still applies to Olenick, officials said.

Antelope Valley Teachers Association President Gary Roberts said at Wednesday's board meeting that the union believes the board bylaw providing for Olenick's medical benefits to the age of 75 was in violation of the law and asked the district to stop paying for them.

Olenick was first elected to the high school board in 1985 but lost his bid for re-election. He ran again in 1993 and won and was re-elected in 1997.

He retired in June 2001 because of injuries he suffered when he worked as a deputy probation officer at juvenile probation camps. Olenick could not be reached Friday for comment.

District officials said they did not know how much they have paid for Olenick's benefit but said they believed he was enrolled in a Kaiser health plan. Union officials estimated the amount to be between $5,000 and $6,000 a year.

Olenick and former trustee Jarold Wright are now receiving medical benefits. Board President Wilda Andrejcik would qualify to receive them when she retires, but no trustee who entered office after Jan. 1, 1995, is eligible.

Superintendent Robert Girolamo said the district provided lifetime benefits for trustees in the 1980s but discontinued it in 1993 when the district was going through financial difficulty.

The district reinstated the benefits coverage in October 1999, a month before failing to pass a $91 million school construction bond measure. The board authorized lifetime payment of premiums for retired board members who had served three or more terms, and their eligible dependents.

The benefits included medical, dental and vision care.

After teachers said the policy was unfair, the board in March 2000 altered the policy, deleting coverage of former trustees' dependents and stating: ``The district shall pay health and welfare premiums for retired board members who served in office after Jan. 1, 1981, who have been elected to three terms, and who were receiving such benefits before Jan. 1, 1994,'' records show.

Girolamo said he did not know the rationale for why the policy was altered in March 2000 to say ``elected to three terms.''

``Technically it meets the spirit of the law. The question becomes: Was it a full 12 years? The language was altered to reflect (the requirement) to be elected to three terms, which was in essence 12 years,'' Girolamo said.

When asked whether the policy was changed to benefit Olenick, Girolamo said, ``In hindsight, you might be able to say that's the case. A year and a half later he did resign. At the time of March 2000, there was no indication of that taking place. He met the requirement of the board policy and the spirit of the law.''

Roberts said he wants the district to hire an independent attorney to review the union's complaint and render an opinion to the board.

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