Palm Beach County School Board approves new nursing contract amid concerns over inequity

WPBF | By Caleb Califano | July 21, 2022

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —

Wednesday night the Palm Beach County School Board approved a new contract with the Palm Beach County Health Care District.

The vote was 6-1; however, board members still need more clarification on which schools need a registered nurse, and which schools need a certified nursing assistant.

For many on the board, inequity was the main concern.

It was suggested last night that they have quarterly meetings to better figure out which schools need either an RN or CNA.

According to Superintendent Mike Burke, some schools in the district went all of last year without a registered nurse.

Dr. Deborah Robinson was the only board member to vote against the new contract.

She believes that with the current shortage of health care professionals, she doesn’t want to walk into a situation where the district is knowingly creating or adding to inequities.

“If you have a school that has no diabetic students at the start of the year, and they have a CNA and then a student is diagnosed as insulin-dependent, that to me means if there’s another school that’s less critical you take their RN and place them at that school,” she said.

The new contract with the Palm Beach County Health Care District begins on Aug. 1.

The school year will officially begin on Aug. 10.