Duncanville ISD terminates probationary contract of school nurse after public comment

Patricia Lennox, who identified herself as a school nurse and gave her home address to the board, addressed the Duncanville Independent School District Board of Trustees during the public comment period to oppose a recommended termination of her employment.

Lennox told trustees her name had been placed up for termination and that she "disagree[d] with the supervisors and the principal who has placed that in effect." She said the recommendation for termination was delivered to her on April 3 and cited three areas listed in the recommendation: documentation, clinic flow and completion of reports. Lennox asserted those three areas "were not within my control," saying administrators set clinic guidelines she was required to follow.

She also cited Texas Education Code Section 22.011 in her remarks, saying the code protects nurses who refuse "to engage in an act or omission relating to patient care." Lennox told the board she had refused to omit care for students for the sake of charting or report completion because there was "just not enough time." She described the termination recommendation as inconsistent with professional rights and ethics.

Following an in-camera closed session on matters including personnel, the board returned to open session and moved to act on the superintendent's recommendation. The board approved the superintendent's recommendation to terminate the probationary contract of Patricia Lennox at the end of the contract period "in the best interest of the district pursuant to Texas Education Code Section 21.103." The motion carried on an electronic vote, 7-0.

No further details of the board's deliberations in closed session were disclosed in open session. The public transcript records Lennox's statement and the subsequent open-session motion and vote; the superintendent's recommendation and the statutory citation were read as part of the agenda item.