According to a Facebook post on Newton Civic Action Forum, the Newton Public School nurses, who are funded under the Health and Human Service Department’s budget – not the School Department’s budget, are planning a protest/picket at City Hall on Wednesday, July 1st, from 4 – 6 p.m. The post quotes the Newton School Nurses Union:
“Given that Newton HAS in the past paid parity and joined almost 90% of the school districts that pay school nurses equal to teachers, why is Mayor Fuller trying to now pay them significantly less (this started before the pandemic).
These same school nurses will be addressing the formidable pandemic challenges to the health of Newton’s children. Mayor Fuller’s position, coming at this critical juncture, is an insult to the school nurses who are trying to address the health needs of the children of Newton.
The nurses have petitioned the Mayor directly to address this matter and were ignored, just like in the days of the past. There is one simple premise for Mayor Fuller to consider and respond to. Give them equal pay.
It is unprecedented, unwarranted and discriminating by its very definition. Mayor Fuller’s position at the bargaining table cannot be tolerated.
The School Nurses need your help Show your support by contacting Mayor Fuller’s office at 617- 796 -1000 or [email protected] and urge the Mayor to pay its Nurses equally and fairly as it has in the past and stop detracting from the efforts to get the schools reopened safely.”
Amy,
Perhaps it’s helpful, too, to provide a bit more background about this small, but devoted band.
This item is unlikely to be a budget buster! According to this description from the 2020 budget, there are 29 nurses, 1 director, 1 assistant director, and 1 health assistant serving a bit under 13000 students. http://www.newtonma.gov/civicax/filebank/documents/96475
Let’s think through how essential they are going to be in the new environment. Here’s the (pre-Covid) job description from the city website:
“Newton School Health Services are provided by school nurses who work for the Health and Human Services Department. Care is delivered in a comprehensive way recognizing that students’ health and well-being have a direct impact on school performance and educational achievement. Each of Newton’s schools has a dedicated professional school nurse who administers mandated services and assumes an expanded role. Mandated services include immunization surveillance, medication administration and population-based screening programs. The expanded role includes care for illness and injury, wellness, teaching/training, student advocacy and school-based team collaboration.” http://www.newtonma.gov/gov/health/school_health/default.asp
I fully support our school nurses and think it’s shameful to treat them this way. They are professionals who are important to the health and safety of our school children, and that needs to be recognized. They jobs are going to become more demanding this year and they need our support.
Thank you for posting our post from the Forum. Sue Riley, the School Nurse’s Union president for 17 years, with 32 years experience as a nurse professionally, told me, “I have never felt this devalued.”
Is that who we are? Devaluing these hard-working, caring women? That’s not want my community to stand for.
Non-essential workers get salary raises – across the board, and yet school nurses, who will be screening and caring for kids with COVID until their parents come — not to mention diabetes, asthma, life-threatening allergies, and behavioral concerns. They are frontline workers to all that ails our kids and the only medical professional in the school.
Important to note they must get the same certification as a teacher, and this contract will be in effect for one year retroactive and three years moving forward.
This is not a temporary setback the Mayor is asking of them for 0% COLA.
Please join us in a peaceful protest on Wed and write the Mayor and your City Councillor (who have no legal power here but should speak up.)
Thank you Amy for alerting the public here. As a parent of a child WHOSE LIFE WAS SAVED BY A CITY OF NEWTON SCHOOL NURSE, I am forever in debt to this corps of dedicated professionals. I know I am not alone in this debt of gratitude. I can not imagine how their employment contracts would have slip between the cracks. I can only imagine that this is all an unfortunate oversight and the City of Newton will fix this omission post haste.
@Kathleen Maguire Unfortunately, it is not an oversight. The Mayor is trying to strip the 28 school nurses of the parity they had in their 2014 contract and 0% cost of living adjustment for 4 years. As other non-essential workers enjoy untouched salaries. This is not what our community wants or values. Hope the Mayor can see this. Hope you can join us today for a picket or share your story with the Mayor and the media.
Good story today in the Patch https://patch.com/massachusetts/newton/school-nurses-picket-outside-newton-city-hall?utm_term=article-slot-1&utm_source=newsletter-daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter
“This is not what our community wants or values.”
You know, Kim Smith – whether I agree or not, it’s awfully presumptuous of you to purport to speak for the entire community.
Are you employed by the NTA or any other union?