An unnamed school nurse and parent told the Nantucket School Committee on Feb. 4 that current nursing coverage at the middle school and Nantucket High School creates a safety risk for medically fragile students.

The nurse said the combined middle- and high-school population is about 957 students and that Nantucket High School alone had 597 students as of that day. "If one of our nurses is out, that's one nurse, and that was me today, for 965 students, which is not safe practice," the nurse said. She urged the committee, during budget discussions, to consider adding "either another part-time nurse or . . . a TA or somebody to help" and said "we really need an RN in every building."

Why it matters: The nurse framed the request as a student-safety issue and tied it to rising numbers of medically fragile students during her seven years on staff. She also cited limits on who may administer certain medications: "There are medications that the state says only an RN can give," she said, and described situations — field trips and sports events — in which an RN must be present if a student is taking seizure medication.

Committee response and next steps: The remark came during the public-comment portion of the meeting while the committee was discussing the budget; committee members did not announce a formal vote on adding nursing staff at the Feb. 4 meeting. The nurse asked that the topic be considered during upcoming budget deliberations.

Context and constraints: The speaker identified both school-population figures and examples of duties that require licensed nurses. The committee has the budget process underway (see separate budget article) but the February meeting record does not show an appropriation or personnel action tied to this request.

Ending: The committee heard the staffing appeal as part of broader budget discussions; no formal decision was recorded on Feb. 4.