MUSD health clerks are at risk of being laid off due to a lack of district funding, according to health clerk Lea Labrador. During the pandemic, the school district was granted a one-time sum of money in order to help combat the pandemic. Now that the funding has been nearly used up, the school district could likely revert to its pre-pandemic operating methods by reducing the number of health clerks to one per two schools, Labrador said.
Ultimately, the decision to lay off these health clerks lies with the individual schools and their management, School Board President Chris Norwood said.
“Schools have the discretion to decide what they want, like saying, ‘Hey, instead of this position, we want a health personnel, or a counselor.’ They can decide the makeup of their campus,” Norwood said.
Before the pandemic, generally, one health clerk was assigned per two schools within the district, Labrador said.
Due to additional funding to combat the spread of the pandemic, the school district was able to hire more medical staff throughout the pandemic, including health clerks, CSEA Milpitas President Suzette Bromagem said at a MUSD board meeting on April 18th.
“All schools were provided funding for additional services and resources during the pandemic,” Norwood said. “It encompassed masks, additional cleaning supplies, and the ability to hire additional staffing to support students.”
This was not a continuous flow of funding though, but instead a large fund all at once, Norwood said.
“When the one-time dollars go away, whatever services that we may potentially have offered may go away as well,” Norwood said.
For MHS, one additional health clerk was hired under the pandemic, but the position will be open next year, as they will transfer to a different position within the district, Labrador said.
Overall, MUSD wants to prioritize students and their needs, Norwood said.
“School districts are designed to provide education first, then the maintenance of their campuses upon which education is being held, which includes healthcare services,” Norwood said.