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Southfield district pauses Head Start applications and says Oakland County-funded school nurses will stop immediately
Summary
The Southfield Board of Education paused new Head Start applications and heard that nurses funded through Oakland County will no longer be placed in school buildings; the district said school-based health clinics funded by philanthropy remain and officials are seeking legal guidance before the next board meeting.
The Southfield Board of Education on April 16 announced an immediate pause on accepting new applications for the district’s Head Start program and said nurses assigned through Oakland County will no longer be stationed inside district buildings.
Board President Ashanti Bland told the meeting the district had been "given a heads up regarding Head Start" and that staff are "feverlessly awaiting more insight," adding that "right now we are pausing applications for our Head Start program. This does not affect Head Start for the rest of the year moving into 2025–26." The board said it will seek legal opinions and provide further updates at its May meeting.
Superintendent Jennifer Green told trustees the loss of Oakland County–funded nurses is effective immediately. "Our funded nurses through Oakland County will be no longer," Green said, but she clarified that buildings with separate, privately funded health clinics will continue to operate. Green later reassured families of students in the district’s intensive student-support network (ISSN) that "our ISSN nurses are still in place" and that those specific supports will continue "for the duration of this year and into the next school year."
District staff also told the board that regional Head Start offices have been closed and two interim regional staff (a program specialist and a fiscal analyst) have been assigned by the regional office while federal funding questions are sorted out.
Why it matters: Head Start and school nursing are direct services for young children and vulnerable students. Pausing applications and losing county-assigned nurses may change how health services and early-childhood placements are delivered, even though the board said philanthropic funding will keep some school clinics open. Board members said they would return with legal guidance and more detail at the next meeting.
What’s next: Trustees directed staff to continue monitoring federal and county communications and said the board will address any necessary policy or budget changes at upcoming sessions.
At the meeting, no formal vote was required to pause applications; the change was announced as an operational update and placed on the board’s May agenda for follow-up.
