LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – It became a controversial decision when one week ago, Fayette County Schools announced they were ending their nearly 50-year partnership with the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department. Well, now the school board says they hope to extend that contract for at least one more year, if not more.

”These health department nurses become part of the school community. That’s what I kept hearing over and over again. And that the kids know them,” said Amanda Ferguson, FCPS District 4.

FCPS originally said they chose a new vendor, Maxim, to provide nursing staff services for all schools starting July 1st, 2024, instead of the health department.

The decision would impact nearly 60 nurses. And board members made it clear Monday night during a work session, that they’ve each been hearing concerns from staff and families since the decision was made public.

“It is difficult to find a family in this community who has not had a positive interaction with a nurse in their school. And it’s precisely why this board was intentional about making an investment to make sure there was a nurse in every school,” said Board Chair, Tyler Murphy.

Board Chair Murphy requested two things. One, is that a new contract extending the partnership with the health department until June 2025 is brought back to the board, instead of using the new vendor Maxim. The second could be a more long term solution.

“Study the feasibility of phasing in an in-house process for hiring and maintaining school nursing staff,” Murphy said.

The board will discuss the contract again at their next meeting on December 14th. If the health department agrees to the contract, the board could vote on renewing it for one more year then.

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