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District nurses tell Ithaca board they lack lead nurse supervision and pay concerns
Summary
District nurses told the board they feel unsupported after the long-time medical director was not rehired and expressed concern that a newly posted itinerant lead-nurse role offers no additional pay, raising worries about supervision, training, and liability for school nursing services.
District nurses addressed the Ithaca City School District Board of Education on May 26, saying the district is operating without a lead school nurse and that recent staffing changes risk undermining clinical supervision and training.
At the public comment portion, Aaron, speaking for nurses in the district, said the long-time medical director was not rehired and that an RFP is underway to replace that role. He said nurses are ‘‘feeling unsupported’’ and that the district has been operating without a lead nurse that their contract describes as providing clinical guidance, consistent training and support for new nurses. ‘‘At the moment we're feeling unsupported a little bit and feeling that we've been operating without a lead nurse, which is something that is in our contract,’’ Aaron said.
Alexis, another district nurse, told the board the concern is not personnel personalities but clinical safety. She asked the board to restore a lead nurse with school-nursing experience and to ensure compensation reflects the additional responsibilities. ‘‘You should not expect a nurse to practice without that medical supervisor and or a head nurse,’’ she said, urging the board to ‘‘ask the people who are deeply day-to-day involved’’ before assuming a ‘‘bigger/better’’ fix will suffice.
Board members and Superintendent Dr. Brown responded in the superintendent report that administration is preparing a plan and data for HR and for the board to review. Dr. Brown said the district originally had a regional cooperative model supported by a New York State grant and that the grant was not renewed, which affected how services were organized. Mary Grover and Carrie Burke described a planned return to an in‑house medical director for the 2026–27 school year and said the district intends to reinstate a leader-type role by increasing an itinerant nurse position and designating it as the lead nurse.
Administration cited financial constraints tied to the lost grant and said bringing the role in‑house changes the staffing and financing model. Dr. Brown also said the medical director position is slated to begin July 1 to support robust summer programs. A board member asked about contract language and extra hours; administration cited timesheet data of about five to seven additional hours per week historically for the lead-nurse duties and suggested addenda to agreements could address pay and responsibilities.
The board committed to further discussion in committee. Several board members invited nurses to submit questions and said the HR committee will review compensation and job‑description details before formal reassignment or hiring.
The meeting record shows the board modified the agenda earlier to add supplements to the personnel report and tabled other policy items for a future policy meeting; the consent agenda including the personnel report was approved.
