Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Nurses and a parent urge action on staffing and safety; board clarifies drug‑testing practice
Summary
A district nurse and a parent raised concerns about a nursing shortage, staffing impacts on medically fragile students and safety measures including metal detectors and 'reasonable‑suspicion' assessments during public input; the board said nurses are not conducting drug tests and suggested follow‑up.
At the public‑comment portion of the meeting, Carrie Mirabella, identified as a Middle Country school nurse, told the Board of Education the district is experiencing an ongoing nursing shortage that she said affects daily student care.
"We have had 3 resignations last year, and we are still short of full time float and a full time permanent subs since then," Mirabella said. She told trustees that, because of shortages, the district has sometimes pulled a nurse from a two‑nurse building to cover another absence and that the practice is unsafe.
Mirabella provided counts and examples: she said New York State recommends one nurse per 750 students in a generally healthy population and a different ratio (cited in her remarks…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
