District school nurses report health screening totals and emergency-medication costs; trustees press for funding clarity

Skyler Basanias, the incoming school nursing coordinator, presented the district’s nursing update and data, saying the figures were pulled in mid-December and highlighting program partnerships and screening activity across campuses.

Basanias reported (as presented to the board) that, as of Dec. 17, the district had 48 students with Type 1 diabetes, 108 with life-threatening allergies, 257 with moderate-to-severe asthma, 50 students with active seizure disorders and 26 with cardiac conditions. She said the district conducts mandated state screening programs and detailed results and referrals: the presentation referenced vision and hearing screenings (vision totals reported in the slides as “400 or 4,732” with 844 vision referrals), 3,102 hearing screenings (16 referrals), 985 growth screenings and 116 scoliosis screenings to date. Basanias described site-level programs—CPR/Stop the Bleed training, Project Maryland (menstrual hygiene product dispensers), dental sealant partnerships with Nevada Health Centers, and cardiac-emergency drills in rural schools that included local EMS and helicopter landings.

Trustees asked several funding and scope questions. One trustee asked whether programs such as feminine-hygiene product distribution and dental screenings are grant-funded or paid from district resources; Basanias said Project Maryland and dental screening partnerships are grant-funded or provided through state/public-health partnerships. A trustee pressed about a large accounts-payable entry for emergency medication, referencing albuterol and epinephrine purchases. Basanias said epinephrine has a short shelf life and the district had been forced to purchase replacement stock because the usual donation/supply channel (EpiPen for Schools program) was backlogged; she said the district tries to obtain donated Narcan and other supplies when available.

Trustees suggested the district catalog unfunded state mandates to consider advocacy at the Nevada Association of School Boards (NASB) level. Basanias said the school-nursing team reduced staff from 23 to 18 as part of recent transitions and described efforts to mitigate costs while complying with state-required medicines and emergency protocols.

Board members thanked Basanias and Cammie Carr for the report and praised retiring nursing coordinator Bobby Shanks for her service. Trustees also asked staff to provide more clarity on program funding sources and cost drivers as the district continues budget-review work.