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Parents and school staff urge board to restore Ice Mountain nurse and preserve Communities in Schools supports
Summary
At the May 18 board meeting, parent Britney Abey and school secretary Wendy Booth told the Hampshire County Board of Education that removing a school nurse and cutting Communities in Schools would endanger students and strip essential supports; the board heard public comment but made no immediate reversal.
Britney Abey, introduced herself as a parent and community member, told the Hampshire County Board of Education on May 18 that the board’s planned removal of the school nurse at Ice Mountain Elementary for the 2026-27 school year would put students at risk. "A school nurse is safety, comfort, protection, and sometimes even the difference between a small problem and a medical emergency," Abey said, recounting allergic reactions, bee stings and blood-sugar episodes that required trained care.
Abey said the district currently staffs one nurse between two nearby schools and that volunteer emergency services in her area can take "about 23 minutes" on average to respond. She said secretaries are being asked to cover health tasks for an 11¢ daily stipend and that the existing nurse was administering "between 20 and 40 meds per day"—details she offered as evidence that the position is essential.
Wendy Booth, who identified herself as a secretary at Romney Middle School, urged the board to preserve the Communities in Schools (CIS) program, calling CIS staff "often the very first people to notice when a student is struggling" and listing services they provide, including food assistance, counseling and medical referrals. "Cutting CIS does not make students' needs disappear," Booth said. "It only removes the trained professionals who know how to respond to those needs."
Board members thanked both speakers but did not announce any immediate change to staffing decisions during the meeting. Earlier in the agenda the board had tabled the specific non-consent CIS memorandum to a future meeting after noting a director would not be present to discuss it.
Why it matters: School nurses and on-site social supports are the first line of response for medical and behavioral incidents during the school day. Parents and staff told the board these services address both routine needs and potentially life-threatening events; the district’s stated plan to reassign or remove positions was the explicit focus of the comments.
What happens next: The public-comment speakers said they plan to return when the CIS memorandum is taken up. The board did not vote to reinstate the nurse at the meeting; any staffing decisions will appear on a future agenda or in personnel actions.
