The St. Clair County Health & Human Services Committee voted Nov. 6 to table agenda item 7e — a proposed contract to provide physician oversight for school-based child and adolescent health centers — and referred the matter to the county Advisory Board of Health for review.

Committee members said they were not comfortable taking final action without the advisory board’s recommendation. Commissioner David Rushing moved to table the item pending that review; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

The vote followed an extended public-comment period in which multiple residents and stakeholders criticized the health officer, Liz King, or defended the county’s medical director, Dr. Remington Nevin. Speakers raised concerns about chain-of-command, alleged insubordination, legal exposure, and whether state-funded school clinics are the right model for expanding primary care in the county. Several commenters urged the board to consolidate the health officer and medical director positions or to remove the health officer.

Supporters of the medical director spoke of Dr. Nevin’s public-health credentials and urged the board to preserve his medical authority. Opponents raised complaints about CAHC programs generally, citing concerns about parental notification, questions asked in school clinics, and the influence of state grant requirements or DEI-related language.

Committee members said the Advisory Board of Health exists to provide medical and policy advice and that its review is an appropriate next step before the board takes final action. The committee recorded the item as tabled and agreed to revisit it after the advisory board’s recommendation.

The motion and tabling mean no contract was executed and no physician was hired as part of this item at the Nov. 6 meeting. Commissioners indicated the advisory board will be asked to weigh in at its next scheduled meeting and that the board will consider those recommendations before final action on the contract.

Documents and comments submitted at the public hearing were entered into the record. The tabling preserves the committee’s option to bring the item back for final action if the advisory board recommends proceeding, or to allow the matter to remain tabled if the advisory board recommends against it.

The committee did not take formal disciplinary or employment action against the health officer; those matters, when raised by speakers, were recorded as public comment rather than committee findings.