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Board approves MOA on medically necessary ESS pay and directs staff to review inclusion of school nurses
Summary
After public comments from a school nurse and staff discussion, the Governing Board approved the memo of agreement for medically necessary ESS salary placement (agenda item 9KS) but directed district staff to review whether more nursing positions should be added to the agreement.
Phoenix Union’s Governing Board approved an MOA (memorandum of agreement) on salary placement for medically necessary Exceptional Student Services (ESS) positions but directed district staff to review whether school nurses should be added to the covered positions.
During the meeting’s public comment period, Timothy Iceman, a school nurse at Voss High School, asked the board to include school nurses in the MOA and requested a stipend for national certification. Iceman said nurses provide advanced care in medically fragile classrooms and that inclusion would help recruitment and retention.
Board members and staff discussed the issue during the consent-item debate. District staff said the subcommittee that developed the MOA focused on services explicitly stated in Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and noted nurses assigned through IEPs were considered differently from general school nurses. District staff also noted nurses recently received a salary increase in a prior bargaining cycle.
Representative Araceli Marquez moved to approve the MOA as presented and directed the superintendent and staff to review additional positions not included in the agreement; that motion was seconded and carried. Board members acknowledged the need to consult with nurse representatives and the bargaining teams and noted timing constraints because of the summer calendar.
The board did not adopt a change to the MOA at the meeting; it approved the current agreement and asked staff to return with recommendations or reconsideration of additional positions, including school nurses.
