The 2011 state K-12 budget will not include an increase to pay for education employee health insurance costs.

Education Superintendent Joe Morton appealed to the Board of Education to focus limited budget priorities on services for students.

At Morton’s recommendation, the board also approved a request that the PEEHIP board that sets employee contribution amounts find a way to pay for insurance increases. By state law, the employee benefit cannot be prorated and takes up an ever increasing amount of already prorated state education budgets, Morton said.

The last time education employees paid an increased amount was 34 years ago, he said.

The board also approved a resolution asking that the education budget breakdown give at least 70 percent of the 2011 education budget to K-12 and 30 percent to higher education. The current breakdown gives 68.78 percent to K-12 and the remainder to higher education.