The City of Worcester, in partnership with the Worcester School Department, has budgeted for a full-time nurse in every public school next school year. This is the result of many years of advocacy by the Worcester school nurses who have worked hard to educate Worcester School Committee members and other elected officials about the complexity of the role of the school nurse and the need for a nurse in every school for the entire school day. In these tough economic times and with limited resources at their disposal, elected officials have difficult choices to make. Worcester school nurses made the case that investing in the health of the children they care for should be a priority. Their hard work has paid off and the children of Worcester and their families will be the beneficiaries.
Worcester reworks budget and finds another $1.7M for schools
19 more teaching posts funded
By Nick Kotsopoulos TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
nkotsopoulos@telegram.com
WORCESTER — City and school officials have worked together to come up with $1.7 million to hire additional teachers and public health nurses in the public schools next fiscal year.
The funding will allow hiring 19 more teachers than what had originally been budgeted for; 10 of those will be in positions that will reduce the number of elementary classrooms expected to have more than 25 students.
Those 10 positions, combined with five teaching positions already funded in the fiscal 2013 School Department budget but not yet assigned, will provide 15 teacher positions that will be used to address the 91 projected classes with 26 or more students next school year.
