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Committee refers $300,000 school-nurse staffing request to full Everett City Council
Summary
The Committee of Ways and Means voted to refer a request to appropriate $300,000 to the Health Department to pay a staffing agency for school nurses; the department said the money would cover agency nurses through Jan. 1 while recruitment and union negotiations continue.
The Committee of Ways and Means voted Thursday to refer to the full Everett City Council a request to raise and appropriate $300,000 to the Health Department’s professional services account to secure temporary school-nurse staffing.
Sabrina Ferricano, director of the Health Department, told the committee the funds would pay a contracted staffing agency that has been supplying “five to six nurses per day” while the city fills vacancies. “We’ve projected out until the 1st of the year,” Ferricano said.
The appropriation was presented as a short-term measure while the department pursues permanent hires. Ferricano said the city is conducting its own recruitment and has met twice with the nurses’ union this year to discuss salary and retention. The department is posting jobs through HR channels such as ZipRecruiter and has scheduled interviews for candidates; newly hired city nurses must complete a four-week orientation before assuming stand-alone duties in school buildings.
Councilor Aussie pressed the committee on the consequences of not approving the funding, asking, “What happens if we do not fund the 300 k? We will have to shut down the school.” Ferricano responded that closing a building would be a last resort and that the appropriation is intended to prevent that outcome by keeping nurses in place during the hiring process.
Committee members and Ferricano discussed differences between agency and in-house pay. Ferricano said agency nurses working in schools typically start around $40 an hour, while the agency’s billing rate to the city is higher. The committee was told the city’s current starting hourly rate for school nurses is $37.72 after last year’s contract renegotiation (previously $32.40), and that the department is exploring whether higher pay can improve recruitment and retention.
Ferricano said the department has relied on one agency, Cataldo, which it has found able to meet immediate staffing needs; other agencies contacted either lacked capacity or proposed higher prices. The department said it will reduce agency staffing as permanent hires come on board.
Rather than take a final position, the committee voted to refer the funding request to the full City Council “with no recommendation” for a full vote. The committee’s action was procedural; the full council will decide whether to appropriate the funds.
The committee adjourned after the referral vote.
