Columbiana looking to fill school nurse positions
By KEVIN HOWELLCOLUMBIANA- Columbiana schools Superintendent Ron Iarussi stated at the school board's regular meeting Tuesday night that the school is currently receiving applications for the aide positions that will soon be posted.
According to Iarussi, the positions list under qualifications that the applicant must be a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse or emergency medical technician. At the June 10 meeting, Iarussi said that his research into the matter revealed that an employee can only be referred to as a school nurse if said individual has obtained a baccalaureate degree, completed an approved school nurse preparation program and is currently licensed to practice as a registered nurse by the state Board of Nursing.
Seeking to provide better medical coverage for all the schools - Pam Zitto was the only school nurse in the district, assisted by two LPNs at each building - the board is hoping to replace Zitto with two qualified medical personnel, Iarussi said.
According to the Operational Standards for Ohio Schools, the minimum standards that schools must meet without employing a school nurse is five out of eight specified Educational Service Personnel, of which Columbiana schools is in accordance, Iarussi said.
By listing LPNs and EMTs as well as RNs in the position posting, the school will be able to select the best qualified applicants of which could be RNs, Iarussi said, but reminded everyone that an RN is not synonymous with to a school nurse.
Since the position is not for a school nurse, the wage will begin at $8.75 per hour and will then be determined based on the qualifications of the individual hired, according to Iarussi, but the goal is to replace Zitto with two employees at roughly the same wage.
"What we have been doing is gambling that if an emergency arose in another building, Pam would be able to respond on time," board Member Alex Heintzelman said. "We tried to come up with a way to cover both buildings at once without spending more money than is necessary. If we can't do that, then we will have to take another look."
Not all in attendance regarded the potential hiring of two employees to replace one school nurse as a negative move.
"The priority has to be to have someone at each building and go from there," parent Stephen Dubois said, stating that he would not allow his child to attend the school if there is no one available to provide emergency medical care.
In other business:
Iarussi announced that according to preliminary data from the Ohio Department of Education, the school has met 28 of 30 indicators on the Ohio Achievement Test, with one that could be met following review of tests scores.
He also announced that new visitors stands for the football field at Firestone Park have been ordered and the school must now wait for the city to provide the plans for the needed permits before installation can be started.
The Board agreed to pick up the amount paid into the State Teachers Retirement System by the building principals as well as increase by 3.35 percent the salary of principals Kimberly Sharshan and David Cappuzello, as dictated by their contracts. It also approved a 3 percent and 2 percent increase in salary for Iarussi and Treasurer Lori Posey, respectively, in accordance with their contracts.
The Board also agreed that the school must seek a bond issue on the November ballot to cover the construction of a $13,325,000 K-8 facility. Although the millage has not yet been determined, Iarussi said he is hopeful it will be under 5 mills.
The Aug. 12 meeting has been changed to 6:30 p.m. Aug. 5 in the high school Media Center.
Kevin Howell can be reached at khowell@salemnews.net
