ASHTABULA TOWNSHIP — The Buckeye Local Board of Education Monday evening tabled a controversial resolution that would reduce the number of hours the district’s school nurses work.
Superintendent Nancy Williams proposed a $16,682.70 reduction, resulting from the closing of Pierpont Elementary and an overall reduction in district student enrollment. Williams said the district’s enrollment has dropped by 150 students in the past five years, and the proposed 7.75 hours-per-week reduction would adjust the ratio of nursing hours-to-students to their 2004 level.
The plan drew criticism from both Karen Burtholf, a Ridgeview parent, and Judy Mudd, a district school nurse. During the public comment period, Mudd reminded the board of the benefits staff, students and community derive from school nurses. She asked who would provide those services if the board followed through on the recommendation.
Burtholf, the mother of a child with juvenile diabetes, said she was concerned with the proposed time changes for staffing at Ridgeview; the new plan would leave the school without a nurse from 9 a.m. to noon next year. She asked who would be available if her child’s insulin pump failed to function while the school nurse was absent.
Williams pointed out that Pierpont has had a nurse only one day a week, and Kingsville has been served only 1.5 days a week. The new plan expands the hours at Kingsville to accommodate the influx of students from Pierpont. It would also make for more efficient delivery of services among neighboring schools.
Board member Sharon Schoneman strongly objected to the proposal, citing the need to take into account the “human factor,” not just the fiscal benefit of the reduction.
“Personally, I don’t think we have enough coverage as it is,” she said. “The amount of money we are saving, I don’t think it warrants that decision.”
Board member Mark Estock also had reservations about the plan and did not want to vote without first knowing what specific medical needs will be present at each building and how the district’s policy on nonmedical staff administering medications stacks up against state law.
Board President Norah Anderson pointed out that every building has access to emergency medical services by calling 911. Williams told the board that if they want five full-time nurses, one at each building, the board would need to spend $185,000 annually.
“The only way to guarantee there would always be a nurse there, you would need to have five full-time nurses,” she told the board.
The district employs three school nurses, one full time and two part time, who are covered by the Buckeye Education Association agreement. The board, if it is to make the reduction, must do so by the end of June to meet the BEA’s contract terms.
Williams will research the board’s concerns and present the information so members can act on the measure before the deadline. Members voted 4-0 to table the motion; member Jacqueline Hillyer was absent because of illness.
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