This week’s meeting of the Morongo Unified School District was wide-ranging. Dan Stork broke his report into two parts. Yesterday: the legal and District views of AB 1266. Today, school nurses, mileage reimbursements, and two school recognitions…
School nurses Marcella Roberts and Susan Schweitzer, and health technician Patricia Williams made pleas for more support, in the form of at least one more registered nurse, and specialized clerical support. The District employs three registered nurses, with a student case load of more than 3000 students each, which contrasts with a national recommendation of 1 per 750 students. The nurses said that the care given has grown more complex over the years, with a workload that deals with diabetes, seizure disorders, asthma, mental health problems, tube feeding—well beyond the popular image of sniffles and scrapes.
The Board denied the granting of $400 per month mileage stipends to the Directors of Facilities and Information Technology, 1-4, with Board President Chris Proudfoot the lone affirmative vote. Assistant Superintendent Dave Price said that both directors would get more money if they filed mileage logs at the IRS rates. But both men have not done so in the past, and would prefer to avoid the paperwork and get a flat allowance. A majority of the Board said, do the paperwork.
Single Plans for Student Achievement from four more schools were presented and approved, as were several revised board policies that had been under review. Two schools—Yucca Mesa Elementary and Twentynine Palms Junior High—were singled out for outstanding achievements, particularly in gains in API scores over one year’s time.
