NJCCC Statement Urging Governor Sherrill to Provide Financial Relief for Faculty and Staff at Community Colleges and to Establish a Working Group on the School Employees Health Benefits Program (SEHBP)
The New Jersey Council of County Colleges commends Governor Sherrill for her leadership in waiving higher health benefit contribution rates for state workers in 2027 and establishing a working group of unions, legislators, experts, and other stakeholders to develop concrete, evidence-based measures to address soaring health care costs and the structural challenges of the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP).
Today, the SEHBP Commission deadlocked on multiple measures, including on the vote for a 34 percent increase in plan costs for active workers – leaving thousands of employees at community colleges and in local school districts in limbo.
Now we urgently ask the Governor to step in.
While we do not yet know the final rate increases our institutions will be facing, we are seeking help for our employees. We are also asking Governor Sherrill to establish a parallel working group on behalf of the State Employees Health Benefits Program.
If the proposed 34% increase for next year’s SEHBP goes into effect, it will lead to $45-50 million in increased costs for the 11 of 18 community colleges still in that program. Double digit increases for those colleges both in and out of the SEHBP are already pushing them to take drastic steps to balance their budgets, including layoffs, tuition increases, and cuts to programs and services that our 255,000 students of all ages and backgrounds need to succeed.
New Jersey’s 18 community colleges contribute over $12.8 billion to our state’s economy, filling critical employer workforce needs and providing affordable, high-quality postsecondary education to all New Jerseyans, including many who are low-income and first-generation students. We cannot sustain our vital impact under these untenable circumstances.
We stand ready to work with Governor Sherrill to find solutions to the catastrophic health care cost increases and structural challenges of the SEHBP.
