Cherokee and Spirit Lake choosing to arm school staff has created a showdown between pro-gun Republican legislators in the state and EMC Insurance, which pulled coverage from both districts.
EMC notified Spirit Lake’s insurance broker, Central Insurance, in April that “no renewal terms would be offered” to the school district, according to emails between Spirit Lake officials and two pro-gun legislators.
Bill Cochran-Bray, an insurance broker for Central Insurance, said to Spirit Lake Supt. David Smith on April 25 that the insurer declined to provide a rationale for the decision.
“We have submitted updated applications for renewal incepting on (July 1) and were told that no renewal terms would be offered,” Cochran-Bray wrote to Smith, state Reps. Steve Holt and John Wills and Amanda Wille, a research analyst with the Iowa House Republican Caucus. “When asked for written confirmation, they declined and indicated this was our only notice.”
Spirit Lake’s Smith did not respond to requests from the Cherokee Chronicle Times for comment. Representatives from EMC did not respond to requests for comment. Central Insurance declined to comment.
Spirit Lake and Cherokee are the only school districts that were dropped without explanation by EMC. They are the only school districts in Iowa with policies that arm staff for the purposes of stopping an armed intruder.
Spirit Lake intends to arm up to 10 non-teachers; Cherokee intends to arm up to 45 teachers and support staff.
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Other neighboring districts (Alta-Aurelia) and Lakes Conference counterparts (Storm Lake) were renewed by EMC with modest premium increases due to weather and rising reinsurance rates.
The insurer, one of the largest players in the small pool of school insurance, has balked at any discussion over its stance.
Wills, R-Spirit Lake, called the insurer’s decision “infuriating and confusing.” Sen. Lynn Evans, an Aurelia Republican who represents Cherokee, described the company’s decision as “unfortunate.”
“They’re preventing school districts from doing something they’re allowed to do, specifically by law,” Evans said in reference to decade-old legislation allowing superintendents to authorize weapons on school grounds if the carrying was done so with lawful purpose. “I don’t know what the solution is legislatively, but I’d be supportive of something that allows school boards to have the authority to make the decisions that they made.”
Wills’ solutions range from killing all of EMC’s business in the state to soliciting an out-of-state carrier that operates in a state where guns are carried on school grounds. Wills claims he has spurred Gov. Kim Reynolds’ interest in salvaging the districts’ plans.
A spokesman for Reynolds declined on Wednesday to confirm the governor’s involvement in assisting Cherokee and Spirit Lake.
“Their gun policies could go down. We gotta figure out a way to do this,” said Wills, who has asked the governor to use state money to pay for increased premiums the Spirit Lake School District will likely incur when it finds another carrier.
Wills said he also asked the governor to spearhead legislation killing all of EMC’s government contracts because it hasn’t justified a loss from insuring either district. Wills claimed EMC is engaging in “ESG,” or environmental social and governance, because it declined to insure Cherokee and Spirit Lake, while at the same time, it insures districts that offer trapshooting, like Alta-Aurelia.
The Republican legislators intend to find a way to keep Spirit Lake and Cherokee’s policies in tact.
“Next year, that bill will be coming forward very quickly,” Wills said of legislation that would force EMC to insure Cherokee and Spirit Lake under the penalty of loss of government contracts. “We hope — I’m confident — that the governor will sign it if it gets to her desk.”
A similar bill, HF654, which would have banned insurance companies from dropping school districts like Spirit Lake and Cherokee, failed last session. Evans hopes the bill will get another hearing.
Spirit Lake became concerned of its insurance coverage dropping last September, according to emails between district officials, state legislators and Central Insurance. (Cherokee board members repeatedly asserted the district’s coverage was not threatened.)
In November, Cochran-Bray told Jane Loveall, Spirit Lake’s director of business and finance, that EMC “verbally stipulated” to not renew any line of coverage after July 1. Cochran-Bray cited the district’s safety plan, which outlined Supt. Smith’s plan to arm up to 10 staff members.
“EMC has verbally stipulated that they would elect to not renew coverage and not offer terms for any line of coverage on or after (July 1),” Cochrane-Bray wrote to Loveall on Nov. 18, 2022.
Earlier that month, the district submitted its emergency response plan to Cochran-Bray in an attempt to appease EMC. In September, the district sent over a list of “detailed safety measures” — arming staff was only one of them — and a training manual offered by Petersen Firearms Instruction for the 10 staff members.
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EMC was not swayed by the district’s claims. It never even filed a written response, according to emails the Chronicle Times obtained through an open-records request.
“Our district sees the addition of armed staff members as a component of our safety plan,” reads a memo Smith issued. The memo was submitted to Cochran-Bray, who promised to submit it to EMC.
“We will be detailing a comprehensive safety plan upon completion of the training, in conjunction with law enforcement officials and our professional training team. Below are other safety measures that are in place, as well as some indications of things we will also be researching and/or doing, as additional layers of safety,” Smith wrote.
Spirit Lake provided its training program through Petersen and the regular requirements that would be expected of armed staff. Armed staff would be required to maintain continuing education at or above that of a law enforcement officer, according to documents Spirit Lake submitted to EMC.
The staff members, who the district described as “armed professionals,” would be required to undergo 40 hours of marksmanship, complete a handgun safety class with an emphasis on school safety, and provide proof of firearm storage in safes provided by the district.
The course also provided guidance on use of deadly force, which is a requirement of law enforcement departments’ insurers.
Cherokee required none of those courses under its policy.
Wills claimed EMC’s lack of responsiveness to Spirit Lake school officials is an intentional tactic to overturn the district’s weapons policy. The district was provided no alternatives when it was not renewed.
“They’re not even considering this. They’re not offering anything the districts can correct. They’ve got nothing,” Wills said of the non-renewal notices EMC sent to both Cherokee and Spirit Lake.
A survey of lawyers who handle wrongful death lawsuits against insurance companies has shown the districts’ liabilities are likely as complex as municipalities that arm law enforcement officers.
The districts, according to the insurance lawyers, would need coverage for the staff who carry firearms and the administrative team members who approve them.
Evans, a former school superintendent, acknowledged that the school districts’ insurance problems are “charting new territory in terms of public safety.”
Wills was frustrated EMC was not even willing to begin those discussions with Spirit Lake and Cherokee.
“They haven’t told anyone anything about their decision,” Wills said. “We don’t even know how we can correct this. We don’t even know what the problem is. Everyone assumes they just have a problem with guns.”
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