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School nursing supervisor says clinic staffing shortfalls are risking student care, urges pay changes
Summary
At the Feb. 13 Isle of Wight County School Board meeting, nursing supervisor Tara Abbey told the board that chronic vacancies and low pay have left clinics understaffed and asked the board to reconsider a budget request to add stipends and raise pay to retain nurses.
Tara Abbey, Isle of Wight County Schools nursing supervisor, told the school board on Feb. 13 that clinics across the division are operating with chronic staffing gaps and that current pay levels make recruitment impossible.
“My priority is keeping the students and the staff in our division's building safe,” Abbey said during public comment at the Westside Elementary meeting. She described covering clinics for “300 hours” this school year — roughly seven and a half weeks — because of vacancies and absences.
Abbey said six staff were out recently and the division has two registered nurse vacancies. “Eight of our nine clinics did not have full staff in them. Two clinics had no clinic staff in them at all. Six of the clinics had no RN coverage some or all of the day,” she said. She also told the board clinics logged 19,587 visits this school year and administered 12,980 medications.
Abbey said pay is the primary reason candidates decline offers. “A starting base pay for an RN sub with an associate degree is $19 an hour, which is the same as a BSN sub,” she said, and contrasted that with nearby positions paying “$43 an hour.” She warned that turnover is costly: a single nurse replacement can run “roughly 15 to $20,000.” Abbey said one nurse with 11 years of service had resigned this year.
Abbey described a budget request she previously submitted for stipend positions to support writing a formal training program and to reduce the need to pull administrators into clinics during staffing crises. She said the proposal was not approved and asked the board to revisit it, saying, “We cannot staff this department if we cannot offer competitive pay.”
Superintendent Doctor Kramer and board members did not take formal action on Abbey’s request during the meeting. Board members acknowledged the concerns and Abbey said she would continue to press for changes in the budget process.
Why this matters: school nurses manage chronic and life‑threatening conditions on campus; sustained shortages can shift responsibility to principals or untrained staff and increase operational and liability risks. Abbey tied clinical staffing to academic outcomes — citing research linking RN presence to lower chronic absenteeism — and framed the pay request as a cost‑avoidance measure when weighed against turnover costs.
What’s next: Abbey asked the board to reconsider stipend positions and competitive pay when it completes budget deliberations. The superintendent said staff would follow up with details requested during the meeting.
