MLSD addresses nursing concerns, passes Title IX resolution amendment

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake School District is weighing the potential of a forensic audit which is addressed in another story, a public comment regarding limited nursing staff and a proposed amendment to the Title IX resolution the district passed during a special Sept. 5 school board meeting. 

Nurses  

Kait Leach, mother of a kindergartner at Groff Elementary School said her daughter has uncontrollable epilepsy and needs reversal medication to treat seizures. The medication can only be administered by a registered nurse per state policy. Last Tuesday, Leach’s daughter had a seizure on the playground and there was no nurse on campus, so Leach’s daughter waited 15 minutes for paramedics to arrive and administer the medication.  

“The staff at Groff did an amazing job taking care of my baby, and they did the best they could, although they are not trained in these types of medical situations, experiencing a child having a seizure is something that is seared into your memory for a lifetime,” Leach said. “As soon as it happens, it feels as though they die in your arms. The staff at Groff had to experience this without a trained leader to guide them. There should have been a nurse there to direct the staff.” 

Leach explained there are only seven registered nurses split between the 17 schools within the district.  

“Please explain to me how they can efficiently take care of our children when they are constantly traveling between buildings and handling so many students,” Leach said. “How can they administer lifesaving medication if they aren't there? This is negligence in the worst form.” 

Leach said she understands that the district is facing a financial crisis, but student safety needs to be put before any other concerns. She asked that the district look at a way to alleviate the situation. 

“I understand that our district is in a financial crisis with safety, student safety needs to be put first above all, and I know that we can get creative and make that happen. Please help in making our schools safe for all kids, including the medically fragile and bring back our nurses.” 

After Leach finished her comment, MLSD Board Member Ryan Coulston asked how her child was doing with Leach saying her daughter returned to school Thursday.  

Interim Superintendent Carol Lewis explained there are currently only seven nurses, but there are two licensed practical nurse positions the district is trying to hire. LPNs cannot manage a caseload, but they are qualified to administer medication. 

Three of the seven MLSD nurses showed up to the meeting including: Penny Mayo, a nurse at Columbia Middle School, Lakeview and Digital Learning Center; Debbie Johnson, a nurse for Frontier, Garden Heights Elementary School and Digital Learning Center and Liz Pray, nurse for Groff Elementary School, North Elementary School and Larson Heights Elementary School.  

All three nurses expressed frustrations with the limited nursing staff.  

Mayo explained the school district has never had a nurse in every school; however, she has been with the district for 13 years and she has seen an increase of students with life-threatening conditions that require nurse attention.  

“It doesn’t help us not to have a licensed nurse in the building, or not have our nurses available and so there hasn’t been a day that I have not cried when I went home,” Pray said. “I can’t keep working like this and I don’t know what the answer is, but you guys need to figure it out. So, we’re supposed to be keeping the 8,300 kids in this district safe and as you heard, I can’t even keep one of them safe.”  

Title IX

Board members also passed a Title IX resolution which says the current Title IX policy for MLSD, passed earlier this school year, which allows students to participate in athletics and activities aligning with students' gender identity does not work for MLSD and the board must act to correct the situation. 

The state of Washington had required a policy to be implemented, but recent legal cases have placed the requirement in question.   

The board called for a special meeting to vote on a proposed amendment by Eastmont School District to the resolution which would add a third category of sports for transgender or nonbinary students to participate in. The resolution passed unanimously among members present. Amy Breitenstein was excused from the meeting.  

One MLSD parent expressed concern about the environmental changes the policy might cause. 

“Children tend to exhibit the behaviors of adults more specifically, they bully when they see adults bully,” Moses Lake resident Matt Pollock said during public comment. “School board policy 1400 states that public comment is considered uncivil when it violates school district policy or procedure related to harassment, intimidation, bullying or discrimination. So, if this comes up in the future, I urge the board to protect students if public comments deteriorate into bullying or discrimination.”