Columbus City Schools board members are calling for accountability and to look at possibly recouping money after the district found an insurance consultancy firm cost it $40 million in cost overrun.
The Dispatch reported on July 27 that CCS was considering firing a human resources administrator after it found she had improperly signed contracts and failed to maintain records regarding her dealings with Aon, a health insurance consultancy firm that helped the district navigate its employee health insurance benefits package in 2024.
An external forensic audit of the dealings with Aon found the district spent $40 million more than expected for the benefits plan produced by Aon during 2025 and 2026, and that Aon “generally treated the district as a taxpayer-funded cash cow.”
Aon was paid over $300,00 in 2024 and 2025, in addition to commissions. It was expected to be paid $180,000 in 2026 for consulting services before the district ended the contract early. The benefits plan, according to the audit, forced the district to pay for cost overruns based on bad projections. Aon refused to give dollar amounts for any commissions they received, the audit said.
Board Member Brandon Simmons told The Dispatch that the district needs to pursue getting its money back from Aon.
“We had a contract that they would render services in a quality manner for a certain amount of money and Aon ultimately didn’t do that,” Simmons said.
Board Member Patrick Katzenmeyer said the district’s joint insurance committee will now have to figure out how to fix the problem “ASAP,” and that the district should consider seeking ways to get some of the money back from Aon.
“If Aon knowingly steered us toward higher-cost plans to achieve greater commissions, while misrepresenting the actual cost to the District – which is what the forensic audit appears to say – then we should absolutely explore whether we can recoup those damages,” Katzenmeyer said.
Board President Antoinette Miranda declined to comment, citing ongoing personnel matters.
In a statement provided on July 27, Aon said that it had worked with the district for 18 years and “throughout the engagement, Aon’s analyses and recommendations regarding benefit plans, vendor selection and related initiatives were reviewed through CCS’s established governance process, including the CCS Benefits Team and Joint Insurance Committee.”
“Any resulting decisions were approved by the appropriate CCS bodies,” the statement said. “Aon remains confident in the professionalism and transparency of the services provided to the district.”
Aon did not immediately respond to Dispatch inquiries regarding the board member’s comments.
CCS report found that Aon treated district like a ‘cash cow’
A 2026 external forensic audit commissioned by CCS found that Aon “was not transparent, did not perform services with appropriate technical skills or knowledge, neglected their own duties per their contracts with the district, and generally treated the district as a taxpayer-funded cash cow.”
The audit was included in the disciplinary report of HR administrator Courtney Hale, who faces firing as a result of her dealings with Aon.
According to the report, Hale did not have a clear view of Aon’s compensation structure, and could not answer questions about whether any commissions Aon may have received could have impacted the premiums paid by district employees. In a 2024 email exchange included in the report, an Aon employee tells Hale the firm is operating at a loss working for the district.
The forensic audit found that “any claim that Aon loses money serving the district is preposterous,” and that some commissions on plans were as high as 80%, “when typically they would be a fraction of that.” The auditor noted that Aon appeared to be telling the district they would be receiving rebates while recommending the highest-cost vendors.
The report also found that projections failed to account for GLP-1 weight loss drugs and there was no quarterly monitoring of claims variance.
Katzenmeyer told The Dispatch that Aon took advantage of the district and recommended “Cadillac” plans while misrepresenting their costs to the district – and has since refused to provide information on commissions made.
“But they are gone now and we are left to pick up the pieces,” Katzenmeyer said.
Katzenmeyer said said Aon’s conduct was “devious” at a time when the district is facing substantial deficits.
“And these guys are quietly inflating our costs and raking in commissions paid for by the staff and the district,” Katzenmeyer said.
Simmons told The Dispatch that while he believes responsibility ultimately falls to Hale, there is a “culture in the district” of outsourcing responsibility to consultants.
“I think part of the challenge is how do we get our staff to understand that when you hire a consultant, that’s just like hiring an employee – you’re still responsible for managing and supervising them,” Simmons said.
He said the “buck doesn’t stop” with Hale and there has been a complete lack of transparency from the administration about how this has been handled.
“This is going to lead to millions of dollars in losses, we cannot point the finger at a mid-level employee, I think someone higher up needs to be held accountable,” Simmons said.
This article has been updated to clarify a quote.
Cole Behrens covers K-12 education and school districts in central Ohio. Have a tip? Contact Cole at cbehrens@dispatch.com or connect with him on X at @Colebehr_report
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: CCS board members look to recoup millions lost to bad insurance deal
Reporting by Cole Behrens, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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By Cole Behrens, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
