Dayton Public Schools

Dayton Public Schools is a large urban school district with more than 12,000 students in pre-kindergarten through high school.  The district operates an early learning center, 16 elementary schools, 4 middle schools and 7 high schools.  They employ 2,290 people (2,059 permanent and 231 temporary employees).  Their operations, which include transportation, present a challenging risk when it comes to Workers’ Compensation.

An employer’s Experience Modification Rate (EMR) determines the percentage of the base rates that they will pay in annual premium.  An EMR higher than 1.0 means that the employer is paying more than the base rate and an EMR lower than 1.0 means that they are paying a rate lower than the base rate.  Claims costs are a significant factor in determining the EMR (higher claims costs results in a higher EMR).

In 2001, Dayton Public Schools had an EMR of 3.27 which was among the highest EMRs of any public school district in the state of Ohio.  For the current (2024) rating year, The EMR is 1.37.  While that is still above 1.0, it represents the lowest EMR they have had in the past 15 years.

This reduction in their EMR is the result of their having fewer allowed claims and lower claims costs.  How was this achieved?  A few years ago, Dayton Public Schools re-examined the way that they manage their Workers’ Compensation risk and claims and made some significant improvements.  They emphasized the importance of timely and thorough injury reporting.  They focused on injury investigation with an eye towards prevention.  They strengthened their return-to-work program, monitoring it more closely and identifying more opportunities for Transitional Work.  They also took a more deliberative approach in defending against claims.

This was not the work of one individual but an entire team.  Contacts from Dayton Public Schools meet regularly with members from their Sedgwick TPA and MCO teams, their legal counsel at Frost Brown Todd, and their BWC team to review new and ongoing claims.  We work together to identify and mitigate risk and to bring ongoing claims to resolution.  Kathleen Davenport, Business Consultant with the BWC has been working with Dayton Public Schools for decades and she is impressed with the results, “Everyone on the team truly works together,” she said.  “There is no finger pointing or shifting of blame and everyone collaborates to effectively manage the claims.  The current EMR really reflects this.”

A lower EMR means that Dayton Public Schools is paying a lower premium and retaining more money that can be used to educate children.  A more effective return to work program also means that educators are spending less time away from work and more time in the classroom educating and caring for students.