No, this post is not meant to stoke fear in people about coronavirus in North Carolina and its public schools, but the recent cases in the country and the continued spread of it throughout the world does bring to mind what we have in schools as preventative measures. Even DPI has released an “official” statement about coronavirus.

Officially (at least according to an NPR report this past Friday) flu season has been extended through April this year and since public schools tend to be one of the most “congregated” environments, it begs that we look at what medical protocols are in place. And the first thing to look at is whether each school has a medical professional on campus.

I work in the largest school in the state outside of Wake and Mecklenburg counties – over 2400 students.

We have a nurse for part of one day per week,

Mark Weber, who blogs under the pen name and blog Jersey Jazzman, has a recent post discussing how one in five schools in the country has no nurse at all. Weber’s blog is one this teacher follows closely at all times. In this post, he constructed some interesting data graphs.

All of this makes me wonder about how in a state which not only is tied for the lowest minimum wage in the country and has a large surplus can be in a budget stalemate over medical benefits extended to poorer citizens and funding for public schools.

Oh, I have the answer: Phil Berger and Tim Moore are in power.

It also makes this teacher wonder why a our current state superintendent never had the guts to fight for funding for each school to have a full-time nurse.

Oh, I have the answer: Mark Johnson is our state superintendent.

One of the best ways to create a strong preventative approach to any spread of communicable sickness is having a full-time nurse in every school – EVERY DAY.

Vote for a state superintendent who will fight for that.