Gilroy
– On Sept. 1, a school district employee missed a day of work
and filed a workers compensation claim after injuring a knee, wrist
and index finger. The employee had fallen over a bench while moving
a file cabinet. During the first week of school, another claim
shows an employee suffered a neck inj
ury after being choked by a student.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – On Sept. 1, a school district employee missed a day of work and filed a workers compensation claim after injuring a knee, wrist and index finger. The employee had fallen over a bench while moving a file cabinet. During the first week of school, another claim shows an employee suffered a neck injury after being choked by a student. Two months before that, an employee was moving a table with a desk on top of it. The employee filed a claim after the desk fell and injured an ankle.
These claims are just some of a high number of accidents that spurred the school district to propose a safety plan before the start of this school year.
Questionable accidents, though less frequent, continue to occur, offering an indication that it will take time to reverse the trend.
Between June and early October, 14 workers compensation claims were filed in the Gilroy Unified School District. If that trend continues, it would put the district on track for 38 claims for the year – half the number from each of the past three years.
Steve Brinkman, assistant superintendent of administrative services, says he would be “delighted” if the district stays on that course.
“That would show significant improvement,” Brinkman said.
Gilroy’s frequency rating for claims last school year was higher than that of all but one other school in its insurance group, and about 25 percent higher than the state’s rate.
There were 78 accidents involving GUSD employees in 2003. In 2002, there were 82 and in 2001 there were 75.
Still, two months after unveiling a plan to create a “safety culture” in classrooms, on buses and on school grounds, steps are already being taken to prevent problems.
Now, every claim is investigated. Maintenance and Operations Manager Jeff Gopp is dedicating part of his hours to being “safety manager,” interviewing the victims and witnesses. He also calls doctors to find out when employees will return to work.
Trustee Dave McRae, a supervisor in Stanford University’s facilities department, has advocated for ergonomics training for employees and is now the board’s point-person for workers compensation.
“They say they investigate every accident, so they should be filling out forms and how can this be prevented,” McRae said.
Morale becomes an issue when accidents are frequent, McRae said.
“It affects the employee in two ways: One, I think it causes people to lose focus and increases the chances of getting injured: Maybe you’re upset with work and you’re not thinking of safety,” he said. “And when you work with someone who’s been hurt and they don’t come to work, you have to pick up their work and people get stretched too thin.”
Brinkman has said the number of accidents can act like a barometer for how the district is doing.
“Even if you have injuries that aren’t expensive, if there’s a high frequency, it’s a time bomb,” he said.
GUSD employees who work in classrooms, on buses and on school grounds are receiving safety training.
“We’ve done an awful lot,” Brinkman said. “About the only areas we haven’t done training in is the high school because it’s hard to get them together, so we’ll do their training by department.”
By next month, the Board of Trustees will hear a recommendation from Brinkman on whether or not GUSD should exit its insurance group.
The district’s insurance premium would have been $300,000 less if it had joined the state-wide group this year, Brinkman said. He is investigating whether GUSD will save money if it joins the group starting next fiscal year.
GUSD has until the end of December to withdraw from the group, and the board is expected to vote on the decision at its Dec. 16 meeting.
Jan. – Oct.
46 total claims
27 strain/sprain
6 contusions
5 falls
3 fractures
3 other
2 stress
Who’s making the claims
20 teachers
13 custodians
4 food service
2 aides
2 transportation
2 district office
2 clerical
1 maintenance
