BOISE, Idaho — More of Idaho's rural school districts will have a school nurse next school year after more recipients of the Healthy Schools Grant were chosen.
For the past 10 years, the grant has provided funding to 13 school districts to pay for a nurse. The Idaho Department of Education announced the number of districts will jump to 18.
Healthy Students in Schools Coordinator Katie Watkins told KTVB they started the grant a decade ago to help support underserved schools in the state.
In Idaho, a school nurse is not specifically funded, meaning schools must use their own funding to pay for a nurse. However, small districts in rural parts of the state sometimes cannot allocate funding for a nurse.
"A lot of times, rural districts have a hard time getting nurses there. And so, building partnerships and sharing the nurse, we're gonna be able to serve more students in the end, ultimately," Watkins said.
According to a news release from the Idaho Department of Education (IDE), the Healthy Schools Grant, funded by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, will allocate $400,000 over the next three years.
Watkins told KTVB they had 63 applications this year.
The news release states five of the 18 school districts will share a nurse. Horseshoe Bend is one of the districts getting money and will share a nurse with Garden Valley.
A spokesperson with the Horseshoe Bend School District provided KTVB with a statement.
We are hopeful that we will find a registered nurse who will be able to assist us in better meeting the needs of all our students by helping with state immunization reports, administering doctor-prescribed medications, educating staff on medical protocols, and various other duties pertaining to improving the health and well-being of our students.
IDE provided a list of districts that will be receiving an onsite nurse and those who will share a nurse:
- Basin School District
- Filer School District
- Firth School District
- Future Public School
- Kamiah Joint School District
- Payette Joint School District
- Preston Joint School District
- Bliss School District and North Valley Academy
- Cambridge School District and Midvale School District
- Clark County School District and West Jefferson School
- Grace Joint School District, Soda Springs Joint School District, North Gem School
- Horseshoe Bend School District and Garden Valley School District
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.