I wish to express strong opposition to the board of education's proposal to eliminate the school nurse teacher positions and replace them with registered nurses.

Apart from medical attention, a school nurse teacher provides the critical service of educating children on a variety of health-related topics which are of great importance in this day and age. I do not feel that a teacher who does not have the background or education in health/medicine would be able to deliver a comprehensive program in the areas of AIDS, drug use, personal hygiene, smoking, sex education and overall psychological well-being. In addition, the school nurse teacher provides a counseling component with students and families that a registered nurse would not be able to perform. School nurse teachers are also a critical component in Instructional Support Team meetings, offering special insight and information that would not be otherwise be available.

I believe that the school nurse teacher is a necessity at the elementary level where there are no other specialists with the same training to fill these very critical needs. I hope the board will reconsider eliminating these positions as the elimination will impact negatively on the overall education and well-being of our students.