After pushback, Fayette County schools will negotiate to extend health department nurse contract

Following an uproar in Lexington over the Fayette school district’s proposal to end the Lexington-Fayette Health Department’s 49-year history of providing nurses for students, school board members decided Monday to negotiate a one-year extension with the health department.

District spokeswoman Dia Davidson-Smith said if approved by the school board the contract between the school district and health department would continue through June 2025.

“The next step will be a study conducted by the district,” Davidson-Smith said.

FCPS officials announced Nov. 27 they had chosen another vendor to provide school nurses. School district officials released a document showing the new vendor, Maxim, outbid the health department. The health department bid about $4.6 million for services. Maxim bid about $3.1 million and outscored the health department on a series of standards.

Longtime Lexington nurses, parents, teachers and a top health department official are among those who raised objections.

The school board had its monthly planning meeting Monday night and did not follow the proposal.

Board chair Tyler Murphy said there has been “much reaction” throughout the community to the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department losing the contract to provide school nurses.

“We recognize the value and importance of having a nurse in every school, the role they play in educating the whole child, and the impact they have on the lives of our children,” he said. “They’ve also been a partner in many of our wellness initiatives.”

Murphy said continuing to partner with the health department in 2024-25 and studying the possibility of creating an in-house model of hiring nurses to serve in Fayette County Public Schools would be beneficial, according to a Monday district statement.

“It gives us another year to work with a familiar organization, and it gives our staff time to come back with next steps for the following school year,” Murphy said.

In a Facebook post, Murphy said district staff will develop a feasibility study and analysis on providing nursing services in-house rather than opting for a staffing agency and report back to the board on these options, which may include a continued partnership with the health department.

At the board’s Dec. 14 action meeting, board members will consider potential options to negotiate and extend the health department’s current five-year contract through June 30, 2025.

Kevin Hall, a spokesperson for the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, said officials there are honored for the opportunity to continue providing school health services to Fayette County Public Schools for another year.

“It maintains a long-standing relationship with the school system, and we are pleased the school board has considered how well our team has served the public for almost 50 years. Working with the students, parents and staff is a major part of our daily mission of helping Lexington be well,” Hall said.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

This story was originally published December 4, 2023 at 7:27 PM.