In return for years of service to the town’s schoolchildren, the town of Harvard promised to provide its retired teachers with quality health insurance coverage; last week, in pursuit of only modest savings and with little warning, the current Board of Selectmen voted to break that promise. This decision makes the town appear untrustworthy and uncaring.
Those of us who had previously thought of Harvard as an excellent place to teach—and to retire from—were both blindsided and deeply disappointed. This is not how a responsible town government treats a now-elderly group that served its citizens well.
Long before I retired in 1993, Harvard’s selectmen chose to enroll retired teachers in the GIC (a state-recommended group insurance provider); many of us, including me, relied on this decision when making our retirement calculations. This summer, on extremely short notice (less than a month in my case), the current board decided to force 112 former teachers and spouses onto the more expensive and inferior plans offered by Minuteman Nashoba Health Group.
The selectmen held a pro forma hearing, but it was clear their minds were already made up. They appeared to be unwilling to consider any of the compromises we proposed, which would have been less disruptive yet still have saved the town money: grandfathering in current retirees; delaying the change for a year to at least give us a chance to plan properly; or keeping the percentages current retirees pay for their coverage.
My hope is that the board will revisit this hasty and callous decision. Many of us are in our 70s and 80s and may now need to abruptly change doctors and hospitals, a process quite disruptive to our lives and medical care. It feels as though the rug has suddenly been pulled from under our feet.
I am not simply a former Harvard teacher. I am also a 33-year former resident and taxpayer whose five children benefited from the quality work of this group of retirees. I urge the Board of Selectmen to reconsider this rushed decision and take the time to work with us to reach a more responsible and humane resolution.
Judith Boyce
Southborough
