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Date: 2/28/2023
WESTHAMPTON — Stephanie Faas, health education coordinator for Hampshire Regional School District (HRSD), responded to news that Superintendent Diana Bonneville, in an effort to reduce district costs by about $15,000, proposed cutting Faas’ position from a full-time job, called a full-time equivalent (FTE), to a half-time FTE.
Faas took issue with the proposal in a letter dated Jan. 30 that was presented to the superintendent and School Committee. The discussion has been complicated, however, by some confusion about Faas’ job titles.
In the letter, Faas said her job title is nurse leader and health education coordinator. Faas is also called “Nurse Leader/Health Education Coordinator” on the district’s web page for health services. When contacted, Bonneville sent a job description for the health education coordinator’s position. In that document Faas is also authorized to administer medications, if no substitute nurse is available. Acting as a substitute nurse is not among the listed job activities.
Labeling issues aside, cutting essential services was not part of Bonneville’s plan. The superintendent changed the job description to add nurse coverage to the duties.
“I had no intention of reducing any of the legal things, the nurse oversight, that was all going to stay as part of the job description,” Bonneville said of the position. But it’s all about health education, planning assemblies and educational programs about drugs, alcohol and safety, doing CPR and first aid certification, that kind of thing.”
The job description of health education coordinator includes primarily educational duties. In the letter Faas, who was on vacation and could not be reached for comment, initially criticized Bonneville’s process regarding the position.
The proposed cut, Faas argued, was suggested without receiving input from those on staff who best know if current service levels could be maintained. Faas acknowledged the coronavirus pandemic is not demanding as much time and energy now, though district students are still struggling with depression and anxiety at previously unseen rates, which erodes their overall wellbeing.
“This is especially concerning in communities where rural health disparities are real and ever present,” Faas wrote.
The health services department went through significant changes in the time she’s been in the position. Training and documentation was standardized, including the policy for life threatening allergies. The Westhampton resident segued the district from five different school physicians to a district physician who, in conjunction with Faas, developed standing orders and protocols for each school.
Having a nurse in every school is “non-negotiable”, according to Faas, because each building has students with complex health needs. Nurses also get sick. She informed committee members that a per diem nurse could not be hired on 22 days this year, when a school nurse called in absent. Faas filled in.
According to Bonneville, working as a substitute nurse is not part of Faas’ job description. Many job descriptions in the district, Bonneville said, are undated. When they were adopted cannot be determined.
“I don’t know how many superintendents ago,” Bonneville said, “they were just worried about who was going to cover – if Stephanie’s in the office, can she help out in some way? – which is how that started, but the job description never changed. I don’t want to see lost nursing coverage, nobody wants that, especially after the [coronavirus] pandemic.”
The district will not have that option, someone to cover for a nurse if he or she calls in sick, if Faas’s position is cut to a half-time FTE. If the position is halved then school principals will be saddled with finding coverage. That may require the services of an employment agency, which may cost the district $75 per hour. A part-timer in the position will also not be available during the summer, further burdening school administrators, who will have to find alternate medical staffing.
“I cannot imagine a part-time nurse leader who would be willing to be responsive to the needs of the district on their non-work days,” Faas wrote.
The health education coordinator position carries a wide range of responsibilities. Offering guidance about COVID-19 and vaccination was a demanding part of the job. Immediate student issues, during school days, still consumes a lot of time. As coordinator, Faas helped principals draft health-related correspondence to families on sensitive topics and wrote letters when a child came down with a case of varicella. Addressing such needs after the school day ends is a built-in expectation for someone in the position.
The education coordinator is also the liaison with the district’s consultant on health recordkeeping, Suzor IT. Faas manages the district’s data submissions to the state Immunization Information System. If the position is reduced, she asked, will the consultant step up to maintain those systems?
She asked if that was even advisable. “Should they really have access to our students’ confidential health records?”
The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), according to Faas, is updating the K-12 Health/Physical Education Curriculum Framework for the first time since 1999. The health education coordinator will play a central role in adopting the changes. Health and wellness practices are updated routinely, which requires the nurse leader to stay informed and plan for the evolution of policy.
Fass concluded by mentioning she is a Westhampton parent. Her concern for the district is not only as an employee, but also as a consumer.
“This district honestly needs to provide a comprehensive school health program (with) a full time nurse leader,” Fass wrote. “Infectious disease outbreaks, emergencies, and unusual clinical encounters do not operate on a predictive, part time schedule.”
Bonneville and Faas are working together to figure out how to satisfy the needs for both education and nurse coverage, regardless of how the position is labeled. The district budget is still being discussed and no final decisions have been made.
“What I present to the school committees and what is accepted as an appropriate job title and job description, that is their decision to make,” Bonneville said. “We do have five school committees, so…it’ll be a while to get that ball rolling. I just wanted to get it rolling in the right direction.”