Also closed will be the Covington, Boone County and Kenton County school systems.

District employees, from school secretaries to bus drivers to teachers, will use the day off to protest cuts in health-insurance benefits next year. They are furious about rates that are higher than those paid by counterparts in Ohio school systems.

For example, a Kentucky district employee who earns between $36,000 and $44,000 would pay about $490 a month next year for family coverage. The maximum, annual out-of-pocket expense would be $4,000, with the employee paying 20 percent of all hospitalization costs.

At Finneytown Local, whose rates are typical for districts in Southwest Ohio, employees pay $75 a month for family coverage and 10 percent of hospitalization.

Ohio districts are free to join together and hire brokers to negotiate deals with insurance companies. The portion paid by employees is usually established through negotiation with unions. School districts pick up the rest.

By contrast, all school district employees in Kentucky are insured through a statewide pool of public employees and retirees. The state contributes $286 toward each employee's monthly premium. School districts do not contribute.

This year, Gov. Ernie Fletcher said premiums would go up 25 percent if he didn't take action to fix what he called years of legislative and gubernatorial neglect. He raised premiums by an average of about 7 percent and simultaneously cut benefits.

For instance, next year's out-of-pocket maximum expense for single coverage will be $2,000, compared with about $1,250 this year.

In the face of Monday's walkout and talk of an outright teacher strike next month, Fletcher this week called a special session of the General Assembly. It will begin addressing the insurance problem Oct. 5.

E-mail kgutierrez@enquirer.com