Editorial: Should school district join suit over insulin costs?

After spending time on Oct. 14 discussing the low educational scores in the district and what to do about them, the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education voted unanimously to join a national lawsuit over the high cost of insulin.
The board spent little time deciding whether to join the class action lawsuit because it was explained to them how unfair the high costs of insulin are. Supt. Kudlak said, “It is the right thing to do, even if we don’t get the money.”
It was noted that the district, which is self-insured for health care, is able to get insulin at a reduced rate from a foreign source. And, the district’s health clinic at McBride is doing well. There will be 10 hours required to fill out questionnaires.
The recommendation to sue came from Thrun law firm, the district’s legal counsel, which is referring Van Buren to Frantz Law Group of California.
The agreement that the superintendent will sign with Frantz won’t cost the district anything until they get a judgment. The attorneys will be paid in full if there is a cash judgment and if there are other kinds of judgments, the attorney will still get paid.
Seems this is outside what school districts should be concentrating on, especially since the present goal seems to be reaching the statewide average score in education, not exceeding it. We’ve been covering the schools for 30 years and in the past it would have been unthinkable to think of the state average as a goal.