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.
Local News
Buckeye cutting nurse makes parents sick
- Local News
-
-
5 homeless
Five people were left homeless Monday afternoon as fire ripped through a two story home at 1861 Footville Richmond Road.
-
Need for jobs tops county survey
Unemployment tops the list of community needs identified in a survey conducted late last year by the Ashtabula County Community Action Agency.
-
2 meth labs in 1 home
Acting on a tip, police found two working methamphetamine labs under one roof in an early Sunday morning raid at a Main Street house, said Police Chief Charles Burlingham.
-
More money woes for the Lake County sheriff
The Lake County Sheriff’s Officecut another five cars from its road patrol division last week.
-
East Sixth Street Cafe faces razing in spring
The city is tentatively set to raze the dilapidated East Sixth Street Cafe this spring, authorities said.
-
Eight indicted by grand jury
The following people have been indicted by the county grand jury. They are set for arraignment in Common Pleas Court.
-
Scamming for puppies
Pat Payment doesn’t have any puppies.
-
Commissioners hear concerns about sewers in Austinburg
Commissioners and Austinburg Township Trustees met Monday afternoon to review a lengthy punch list of items that need to be addressed before the county can accept the township’s sanitary sewer project.
-
Consultants to assess contaminated land
A consulting firm hired by the city to assess unused commercial and industrial land is fairly confident a study of the contaminated Astatic property can be properly completed, City Council learned at Monday’s work session.
-
Amputee takes one step at time
With measured breaths, Kevin Malloy stood up and began to walk.
- More Local News Headlines
-
