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Board approves new 'nurse's aid' position after trustees question training and oversight
Summary
The board approved a memorandum creating a nurse's‑aid position to support medically fragile students as a cost-saving alternative to contracted RNs; trustees pressed for clarity on required certifications and supervision and one trustee expressed insufficient information before recording an opposition/abstention.
The Carmel Central School District Board of Education approved a memorandum of agreement April 21 to create a new 'nurse's aid' position within the Carmel Office Staff Association to assist medically fragile students and to reduce reliance on outside, contracted registered nurses.
Administrators described the role as focused on monitoring, basic first-aid and recordkeeping for specific students, with training tailored to each student's needs and supervision by the district’s school nurses. The administration said the position is intended to provide comparable care more cost‑effectively than paying outside RNs at higher hourly rates.
Trustee Douglas and others asked whether the job would require recognized certifications such as a certified nurse aide (CNA) credential. Administration representatives and the maker of the motion noted the position is a nurse’s‑aid role with program‑specific training rather than a full RN replacement; they said district nurses would continue to oversee medical care and emergency response protocols.
“One of the things I hear is that it’s very hard to make a decision about this without understanding the type of task that will be fulfilled,” Trustee Douglas said, asking for more detailed job information. The administration offered to provide the full job description (drawn from county guidance) and noted student privacy concerns limited public discussion of specific medical needs.
The motion to create the position and approve the MOA carried. The transcript records at least one trustee expressing opposition and an abstention before the meeting continued; the meeting did not record a detailed roll‑call tally for that specific motion in the transcript excerpt.
Next steps: the administration said it will file the complete job description and implement training and supervisory processes through the district nursing team.
