Wood BOE hears pitch for adding nurse at PHS
Photos by Douglass Huxley Wood County Schools Coordinator of Nursing Julie Bertram talks to the Board of Education Tuesday night about the need for an additional school nurse at Parkersburg High School to help with the overwhelming number of students the current nurse sees daily.
Randall Reid-Smith, left, the governor’s curator for the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, presented Parkersburg High School Band Director Dan White with the 2023 John Paul Lynch Sr. Spirit of Music Award.
Photos by Douglass Huxley Wood County Schools Coordinator of Nursing Julie Bertram talks to the Board of Education Tuesday night about the need for an additional school nurse at Parkersburg High School to help with the overwhelming number of students the current nurse sees daily.
Randall Reid-Smith, left, the governor’s curator for the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, presented Parkersburg High School Band Director Dan White with the 2023 John Paul Lynch Sr. Spirit of Music Award.
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PARKERSBURG -- Wood County Schools Coordinator of Nursing Julie Bertram addressed the Board of Education Tuesday about adding a part-time nurse at Parkersburg High School to help with the overwhelming number of students being seen.
Bertram said between Oct. 26 and Nov. 17 the school nurse at PHS had 1,144 office visits from students, averaging 76 students a day.
"There's just not enough time in our school day for one school nurse alone at PHS to safely see this many children in her practice," she said.
Bertram said those visits don't include the students who are diabetic and need daily blood sugar management or those who might receive daily medication. She said school nurses have a direct impact on student success by removing health barriers.
"Our nurses provide for the health and safety of school campuses because they're the first line of health care professionals our staff and students have access to each day," Bertram said. "It's important to note that it's proven that students having regular access to a certified school nurse keeps them in school."
She said school nurses rely on their assessment skills to help students and it's hard to do when there's a line of 10 waiting to be seen. She said the part-time position would be for the remainder of the school year and the individual would be there in the morning until lunchtime.
"That seems to be the roughest time," Bertram said.
The board approved the new position during the consent agenda.
Parkersburg High School Band Director Dan White was presented with the John Paul Lynch Sr. 2023 Spirit of Music Award during the meeting by Randall Reid-Smith, the governor's curator of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.
"He's very well-respected among his colleagues, and he exemplifies the spirit of music with our marching bands," Reid-Smith said. "There is nobody, nobody more deserving than Dan White."
The board also heard from the Student Advisory Council, which is made up of students from throughout the school district. Kennith Cook, director of secondary education, said the students are picked by their principals to represent their schools.
"This gives them a forum to have direct communication and interaction with the Board of Education," Cook said.
Parkersburg South High School senior Cayden Mackey and PHS senior Caelyn Wise both said they've been having a good year, with few problems besides some door malfunctions at their respective schools.
Superintendent Christie Willis said the door issues were due to a software update that has been fixed.
Baylee Hale, from Edison Middle School, said the heating at the back of the school was a little "buggy" but the issue seems fixed.
Janet Sears, principal at Edison Middle School, said it was an issue with the HVAC system.
"Just a little glitch, we're good," Sears said.
"Nobody wanted to move, they just got their coats for the day. ... They (HVAC repair) were very quick to address the issue."
Malaya Bowling, from Hamilton Middle School, said they have had no issues and are excited for upcoming sports.
"Especially with basketball," Bowling said.
"We're supposed to have a good boys team. We're also very excited for the track team."
Board member Judy Johnson thanked Cook and fellow board member Debbie Hendershot for the work they do with the Student Advisory Council.
"It's nice to recognize students for achievement, but it's nice to have them come in and voice and represent other students. And talk to us about what their needs are," Johnson said.
During public delegation Williamstown resident Neal Wilson thanked the board for standing firm against what he described as efforts to ban books.
"These groups may be loud, but they don't speak for most of us," Wilson said. "And so I thank you for recognizing that."
The next regular meeting of the Wood County Board of Education is scheduled for 6 p.m. Dec. 5 and will take place at Martin Elementary.
The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed online.
Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com