The Daily Citizen, Dalton, GA

Health

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  • Matt Hamilton/The Daily Citizen City Park Elementary School nurse Julie Parker looks at the throat of a student not feeling well in her office. State cutbacks threaten to end school nurse programs.

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March 4, 2010

School nurses now targets of proposed budget cuts

Jamie Jones Dalton Daily Citizen

DALTON — The Dalton and Whitfield County public school nurse program, which has been in peril of losing state funding for the past several years, is once again the possible subject of state budget cuts.

Whitfield County Schools superintendent Katie Brochu said she is “very, very worried” about the possible elimination of the program. Because of rising unemployment and parents lacking health insurance, school nurses are often the only medical care some children receive, she said.

“It’s really a very serious concern on the chopping block,” Brochu said at the Whitfield County Board of Health meeting on Thursday. She is a member of the board.

Dalton Public Schools and Whitfield County Schools contract with the health department to provide nurses at elementary and middle schools. There are no nurses at the high schools.

During the 2008-2009 school year, there were 11 nurses from the health department spread throughout the county school district’s middle and elementary schools. For the current school year, that number has dropped to six. They rotate through the elementary and middle schools. The system pays the health department $232,771 for the nurses.

Dalton Public Schools has six school nurses — one for each school — and pays the health department $291,938.

“They’re starting to get nervous about next year,” health department manager Cheryl Wheeler said of the school nurses.

The health department has money concerns of its own. It has a $5.3 million budget for fiscal year 2010, which runs from July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010. Officials are expecting a 8.5 percent cut from the state for the next fiscal year. The department has already cut four full-time positions, had hiring freezes, and reduced operating costs by skimping on janitorial and maintenance work while also restricting travel.

Board chairman Bruce Broadrick is also concerned about possible grant-in-aid cuts from the state. In fiscal year 2009, state grant-in-aid totaled $219,544.

Steve Tonya, health department financial operations and services manager, said the cuts are expected and the department has planned for them.

 “We’re in good shape,” said Tonya.

He noted the investment arena, once a profitable venture, has nose dived. For example, certificate of deposits and money market accounts generated more than $100,000 in fiscal year 2009. This fiscal year, that number is expected to be $48,804.

The board of health’s next meeting is June 3 at 12:30 p.m. at the health department. The meeting is open to the public.

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