The Washington County School District Board of Education voted March 26 to award its employee benefits consulting RFP to GBS, a benefits consulting firm, after trustees said the firm committed to greater transparency, proactive plan‑design recommendations and disaggregated data analysis.

Board member Raymond P. Ward moved to award the RFP to GBS; a trustee identified in the transcript as Member Cox seconded the motion. The vote was taken by voice and the chair called for ayes; the transcript records "Aye" and no opposition was voiced. The board recorded the award by voice vote during the open meeting.

District staff and trustees described the reasons for returning to GBS, which previously worked with the district. Presenters said GBS offers stronger disaggregated data support than other bidders, and that capability enables the firm to identify high‑utilization individual cases in the district's claims data. In the meeting, staff gave a specific example GBS had used with a different client: an individual who visited emergency care 37 times in a year; disaggregated data, staff said, allowed consultants to identify that person and offer case management rather than relying on aggregate claims summaries.

Trustees told GBS representatives at a follow‑up meeting that the district expects firm recommendations, clear risk explanations and options ranked by likely fiscal and utilization outcomes. "We want you to be very proactive in plan design," one trustee said, adding the district expects consultants to present a prioritized set of alternatives with likely costs and any commission or override arrangements disclosed in advance.

GBS agreed to provide ongoing reporting and to disclose any compensation tied to carriers, including overrides; staff said the firm committed to a sign‑off process in which the district would review and approve any disclosed arrangements before the district accepted them. The board also discussed the potential range of total consultant compensation: presenters said consultants' normal override rates were about 1 percent of the book of business, and staff estimated the consultant compensation for a $30 million book of business could be in the low hundreds of thousands; staff said GBS indicated a guaranteed minimum of $45,000 in one scenario. Trustees said they will monitor the firm closely and expect regular updates and compliance support such as legal advice on benefit changes.

The award includes expectations that GBS will use disaggregated data to identify high users, recommend plan designs that incentivize appropriate utilization (for example, reduce unnecessary emergency‑room use and optimize pharmaceutical spend) and provide proactive compliance guidance. Board members said they will hold the firm to those commitments and will sign off on disclosures and incentives as part of the district's oversight.

Motion: award RFP to GBS (moved by Board member Raymond P. Ward; second by Member Cox). Outcome: approved by voice vote; no opposition recorded in the transcript.