Request By:
Dr. Fred Williams
Superintendent
Fort Thomas City Schools
Fort Thomas, Kentucky 41075
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Robert L. Chenoweth, Assistant Attorney General
You have asked the Office of the Attorney General whether a local board of education could purchase liability insurance for its employees and pay all or a portion of the premium for same from board of education funds. You noted such would seem to be permissible under the provisions of KRS 161.158.
KRS 161.158(1) reads as follows:
"(1) Each district board of education may form its employes into a group or groups or recognize existing groups for the purpose of obtaining the advantages of group life, disability, medical, and dental insurance or any group insurance plans to aid its employes, as long as the employes continue to be employed by the board of education. Any district board of education may pay all or part of the premium on the policies, and may deduct from the salaries of the employes that part of the premium which is to be paid by them and may contract with the insurer to provide the above benefits."
We believe that pursuant to this statutory section, "a board of education is authorized to aid its employes in obtaining the advantages of insurance plans and other like kind fringe benefits. . . ." See OAG 75-646, copy attached, at page two. We further believe that this statute is applicable to "any group insurance plans to aid its employes." KRS 161.158(1).
Therefore, in view of the above, we see no reason why a group liability insurance policy is excluded. It is thus our opinion that under the authority of KRS 160.290 and KRS 161.158, a local school board may elect to "pay all or part of the premium" on a group insurance policy for liability insurance.