PSS allocates funds to hire part-time nurses

The Public School System has set aside a portion of the funds that it received from the Education Stabilization Fund under the federal law enacted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic to hire part-time nurses for each campus in the CNMI for the upcoming school year.

According to Tim Thornburgh, PSS Federal Programs officer, PSS is looking into hiring retired nurses to work part-time in every campus to conduct thermal scanning for students and staff.

“We do want to hire, on a part-time basis, some retired nurses to be at every school to basically be scanning students and staff to make certain everyone is healthy,” he said, adding that these nurses can help ensure student and staff safety with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“I remember back in 1991, every school had a nurse. Across time we lost our nurses but we need part-time nurses to really make sure our children and staff are healthy before getting together in the classrooms,” he said.

Thornburgh added that aside from hiring nurses, PSS will also work on purchasing thermal cameras. “They will be using these thermal cameras, the same thing we see at the airports. It gives a thermal image and it also gives your temperature. That’s what we’re looking at and we’re looking at getting 32 of them,” he said.

PSS has also set aside funding it received from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, to help low-income families apply for home internet but covering a portion of their internet bill.

“Both of our connectivity providers, Docomo Pacific and IT&E, have a low-income program where they provide a connectivity device for like $60 a month. We’re trying to help families with low income, so we’d cover $40 but the families would still cover $20 a month. We’re estimating that the number of families [that will be assisted] are most certainly around 4,000,” he said.

With the possibility of schools transitioning some learning to online classes this school year, PSS wants to make sure all students have reliable network connection, Thornburgh said, and for the families who cannot afford it, PSS wants to help subsidize this.

PSS is looking at spending around $15,000 per campus for these initiatives.