Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Staffing And Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents and staff urge board to address nurse shortages, transportation and staffing
Summary
Community members and trustees flagged nurse staffing shortfalls, bus access for students in cold weather, and high turnover; trustees requested cost‑savings reporting from personnel changes and administration outlined next steps for follow-up.
Community members and several trustees used both public comment periods to press the School City of Hammond board on nurse staffing, student transportation and employee retention.
Rena Horrigan (recorded alternately as Horgan/Horrigan) urged the board to prioritize funding for the return of school nurses to every building and said untrained secretaries are being asked to perform medical duties. "Secretaries ... are being asked to act as medical responders, dealing with sick or injured students multiple times a week," she told trustees, and she urged the district to restore daily nurse coverage.
Wanda Puckett asked the board to provide buses for winter months to protect students walking in cold weather, saying older siblings escort younger students and that late arrivals and safety are problems. "What is y'all gonna do about them buses? ... Let's bring it out and get them kids the buses for 6 months," she said.
Trustee Blake King read the accounts payable and payroll registers into the record: claims totaled $5,486,921.35 and payroll totaled $4,888,521.26. He flagged personnel trends reported in the packet — two terminations, multiple certified and classified resignations and recommended hires — and requested a report showing whether unfilled positions yielded cost savings that could be reallocated (for example to transportation). Trustees discussed preparing a staffing-cost-savings report spanning July to the present.
Public commenters and several trustees also raised concerns about negotiating practices and transparency around benefits and implementation of programs. Several speakers urged the board to post job openings promptly and to consider using rainy-day funds or other mechanisms for short-term transportation needs.
The board scheduled follow-ups: administration and finance staff said they would look into providing the requested figures and preparing reports for the new board and the public in the coming weeks.
