Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Nurses topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
PGCPS school nurse urges board not to convert nurses to 11-month positions
Summary
A PGCPS school nurse told the Operations, Budget & Fiscal Affairs Committee that most school nurses oppose changing to 11-month contracts, citing a district survey and warning the shift could hurt retention and recruitment; she proposed alternatives for addressing immunization noncompliance.
Catherine Sutton, a Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) nurse and parent, told the Operations, Budget & Fiscal Affairs Committee on Dec. 17 that the district should not convert school nurses to 11-month positions.
"Based on my almost 10 years as a school nurse, I don't think we need to work more months to keep immunization noncompliance numbers down," Sutton said during public comment. She said a recent district survey of 193 responding nurses showed only 30% supported moving to an 11-month schedule.
Sutton urged the board to consider alternatives that would avoid a districtwide schedule change she warned could harm retention and recruitment. "Many nurses have said that they would retire or consider finding employment elsewhere if they had to work during the summer," she said, and cautioned that replacing experienced staff could force the district to rely on agency nurses and costly retraining.
Her proposed alternatives included using nurses already on 11-month contracts and summer-school nurses to handle follow-up immunization work, and ensuring administrators continue to exclude noncompliant students throughout the school year. "Staying on top of this issue all year will lessen the large push that is needed in August and September," Sutton said.
The committee did not take action on the schedule in this meeting. Sutton said she did not fully understand all budget constraints but wanted the board to prioritize collaboration and communication before implementing a districtwide schedule change.
What happens next: The district's budget process will continue in January, when the superintendent's proposed FY2027 budget is expected to be released and public hearings scheduled; any staffing-schedule changes would surface during that cycle.
