OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Fredonia High School Principal Darrin Paschke stood up for the needs of students at a recent Board of Education meeting, asking the district to find solutions for understaffed nurse and social worker positions.

Darrin Paschke stood up both figuratively and literally for the needs of students at a recent Fredonia Board of Education meeting.

Paschke, the Principal of Fredonia High School, stood up from his seat at the Board of Education round table, walked over to the microphone, stated his name and address, and then spoke to the Board of Education on behalf of needs that are not being met at the district that he has called home dating back to his days as a student at Fredonia. Paschke said he is “incensed” because of two specific needs he highlighted.

The item of note that gained less traction immediately from the Board was the glaring need to staff and adequately compensate school nurses. Paschke noted how on multiple occasions this school year, the district has been without a school nurse in the building due to a shortage of substitute nurses in case of emergency, leaving students without access to medication or treatment for ailments.

“I’ve had sick kids in my office in the morning with no place to go. We’ve had kids that need to get their meds in the afternoon and don’t get them,” Paschke said.

He continued by blaming the district for not adequately compensating nurses to entice candidates to apply for the duties. “I know that we’re trying, but we need to come up with a solution. It’s something that needs to happen. Our kids are not safe,” Paschke said.

Paschke, the head of the Fredonia Administrators’ Association, also stated it is “not a Board problem.” Paschke noted that while he does not have an immediate answer for how to fix the issues at the district, he stated, “I’m just incensed at the situation we’re in. I think we need to do a better job. … There is a solution out there and we can’t keep waiting.”

Before he spoke on the nursing issue, Paschke first spoke to the need to fill an open Social Worker position. His comments, which resulted in lengthy discussion from the Board and Superintendent Dr. Brad Zilliox, were centered around the listing of the position as a 0.6 position, rather than as a full 1.0 position.

“I see once again that we posted for a 0.6 social worker this week, and I find it disappointing. We need to be putting our money on a full-time social worker. It’s needed in the high school, it’s needed in the middle school,” Paschke said. “I don’t understand why it’s continuing to be a 0.6. We talked about, well, we need to cut something. Find it.”

Paschke added he is “very disappointed” by the district’s limited resources dedicated to additional support for students in need. He also stated it is unlikely the district will find a qualified applicant to accept a part-time position, as evidenced by the continuous listing of the position throughout the school year.

Zilliox defended the district’s decision by stating that in the past, the district was “right on the doorstep” of filling the position through an outside agency before the plans fell through. He acknowledged Paschke’s statement that a part-time position is harder to fill is “accurate.” Zilliox stated, “If somebody has a full-time job right now, they probably are not going to come to Fredonia for a 0.6.”

Board of Education member Tom Hawk then asked Zilliox, “Are we in dire straits financially to where we cannot afford to go the 0.4 more to offer this to our school and student body?” Hawk then stated, “It’s kind of disappointing that we’re talking about this, really in earnest now. We are halfway through the school year.”

Paschke highlighted that the number of students receiving additional services or accommodations from the district, via 504 plans, has nearly tripled since the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, according to Paschke, 28% of Fredonia High School students are missing at least 10% of scheduled days of school.

Paschke also noted the district has seven students in an online schooling alternative program through BOCES, at the cost of $77,000 to the district, due to mental health issues prohibiting students from attending classes in person.

“We need people to help our kids and I want the Board to take it seriously,” Paschke said.

Zilliox said the topic is part of “difficult choices” that a district must make. He then referenced how approximately $600,000 worth of positions throughout the district are supported by American Rescue Plan Act funding, which expires after this year.

Business Administrator John Forbes estimated an additional 14 staff members have been added to the district since 2018, with approximately half of them funded by the American Rescue Plan Act. Zilliox noted a desire to retain the current staff, while also stating, “At some point, there is a breaking point.”

Zilliox acknowledged there is “an argument to be made” the district needs additional counseling services, social workers, school psychologists, and even administrators. He also listed educational coaches in writing, reading and math, as well as an additional school safety officer.

“At the end of the day, I’m just doing the best that I can – working with the business office – to make sure that we don’t overextend ourselves and end up in a situation where someone maybe left a job to come here for a job that no longer exists, or we’re reducing positions because we didn’t have the forethought to not go for an easy fix,” Zilliox said.

Hawk refocused on the need for an additional social worker, which prompted Zilliox to state he was “not supporting adding any staff at this point.”

Board of Education member Sheila Hahn then raised her hand high to be acknowledged to issue a response. Hahn stated she disagrees with differing to Zilliox to decide whether to address the needs voiced by Paschke.

“I hear the desperation in one of our administrators and I see the agreement in all of our other administrators with him,” Hahn said. “We have come out of COVID and we are in a mental health crisis. We are hearing that we are in an absenteeism crisis. We do not have the mental health support we need.”

Hahn continued by taking issue with the staffing crisis created by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding as a reason for not addressing the district’s current needs.

“I just don’t understand the ‘because we hired all these other people using the ARPA money, now we’re not going to do the one thing we actually need to do, that the ARPA money was meant for, which is address the mental health of our students,” Hahn said.

Hahn also took issue with limiting the posting for a social worker to be a part-time position. She said, “I just don’t see why this is the hill we’re going to die on. … This is the stand we’re going to make? I just want to voice my disagreement with that.”

Board of Education members Lisa Powell Fortna and Courtney Gullo each voiced their support of Hahn’s stance.

Zilliox then responded to questions of the Board’s role in the decision making process by stating, “I serve the Board of Education.”

Board of Education President Brian Aldrich waited until the rest of the Board all commented on the matter before offering his thoughts. He defended Zilliox, stating, “We have to give some kind of trust in that leadership, in his abilities, in his training, in his education, and in his experience as a superintendent … to prioritize the spending of our funds.”

Aldrich also stated, “I don’t believe that it is the Board’s responsibility to come up with solutions.”

Wheelock School Principal Amy Piper later thanked Paschke for his “courage” representing the district’s administrators regarding the needs of students. She stressed the increased emotional needs of students in recent years.

“I thank you, Darrin, for putting that out there. It is a real concern,” Piper said. “We’re never going to be able to address the educational, academic needs of our students … unless they feel safe, and I feel very strongly that is our responsibility.”