Our district and those in our county have teachers pay a % of their benefits and then the coverage isn't all that good-lower than what the city or state offer for benefits. To be honest, it's one of the reasons I decided not to be a teacher. I think you should be happy your district has a pull to get the best people.
The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating-in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life. --Anne Morris
With school budgets about to be voted on, I'm very curious to find out how many schools give their teachers full benefits without charging anything. Our teachers are automatically covered along with their families from their first day on the job. Our superintendant gives us the same pat answer every time we bring up having teachers contribute something towards their benefits that because nobody else does it, we'd lose all of our teachers to the surrounding towns. What do your schools do?