METHUEN -- In an effort to fill gaps in coverage, school officials have approved a 33% pay increase for per diem nurses.
The change, which increased the daily rate from $150 to $200, was approved unanimously by the School Committee on Monday night. The district also approved a change that will allow the district to use Licensed Practical Nurses on a pier diem basis at a rate of $150 per day.
The vote came after a school nurse spoke before the committee about "unsafe" levels of staffing at the schools.
Per diem nurses work on a temporary basis and work to fill in gaps in staffing needs allowing nurses to have a better work life balance and time off, according to the American Association of Nurses. Superintendent Brandi Kwong said the boost to pay will help the district get more substitute nurses.
There are four nursing related positions posted by the school online, including one nurse position and one LPN. Kwong said for the most part each school has two nurses and one medical assistant. Timony Grammar School with 1,148 students in the 2023-24 school year, however, only had one registered nurse as of the meeting.
State guidelines recommend one nurse for every 500 students. As of the 2023-24 school year, most city schools had about 1,100 students enrolled with about 1,900 attending the high school.
Like other schools in the state, Methuen Public Schools drafted this year's budget under significant budget constraints. The school is receiving about $5 million less in state funding than the district had expected. To fix the budget officials, cut 41 school positions, the vast majority of them vacant. Rising costs, including for transportation, have also contributed to tight budgets.
"It's hard because we can't compete with some of the pay in surrounding towns," Kwong said. "We are not getting applicants."
This is coupled with a tighter market for hiring nurses.
The contract with the Massachusetts Nursing Association for the previous school year offered a base pay between $44,508 and $88,390, depending on education and other factors.
Earlier in the night, Alyson Dwyer, a nurse at Tenney Grammar School and a representative for the union, spoke about the struggles that school nurses face.
She said the school had seen a "significant decline" in nursing staffing since the middle of last year when the district lost its nursing director. She said this lack of leadership pushes some applicants to not even apply.
Dwyer added the director had been subbing 50% of the time. She said some positions had also been eliminated.
She voiced concerns about a job not being posted in a timely manner.
Kwong said there had also recently been an unexpected resignation. She added administrators had to switch a staffing position to another building "to get the school open" this year.
Dwyer said the district also had many students with complex medical needs, including seizure disorders. She said school nurses are also on the frontline of grappling with the country's mental health crisis.
"It is not uncommon that the first time a student reveals suicidal ideation or cutting it's to the school nurse," she said.
She added medical assistants were also "invaluable" to the district. Kwong said the addition of the assistants after the pandemic was "critical" due to the size of the buildings.
Methuen Education Association co-President Kara Blatt voiced support for the nurses, both for higher wages and other support. Due to the shortage, she said it is difficult for "medically fragile kids" to get what they need in a timely manner.