Non-immunization costs schools
Students sent home for not having shots means $500,000
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Sat, Sep 8, 2001 |
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By
BETH DOVE
Standard-Examiner staff
SALT LAKE CITY -- School districts
across the state are losing state funds to the tune of half a million dollars
because some students have not been properly immunized.
In June, 271
of Utah"s more than half a million public school students had not received
the shots needed to comply with state law. As an encouragement to send students
home who are not immunized, districts do not receive funding for those
students, said Patrick Ogden, state associate superintendent of agency
services.
Sixty-four of
the non-compliant students are in the Box Elder School District, which along
with Granite and Salt Lake, is one of the hardest hit districts. Box Elder
stands to lose more than $131,000 this year.
Box Elder
School Superintendent Martell Menlove said the loss, a first for the district,
represents a significant chunk of a $56 million budget.
But he"s
hoping to save some of the money through an appeal to state officials. He
pointed out that, since the report came out, all but eight students have either
gotten the required shots or filed for exemptions.
If attempts at
compromise are unsuccessful, he"s unsure, he said, which programs will
absorb the cut.
Menlove said
most of the non-compliance stemmed from school-nurse turnover and a recent
requirement that secondary students receive a second MMR
(measles/mumps/rubella) shot. He said school officials take responsibility for
knowing the students needed the additional shot but not following up.
"It was a
failure on our part to send kids home from school who did not have that
shot," Menlove said. "That"s what we"ll do from now
on."
Ogden said new
reporting methods could account for the state receiving more accurate data than
in the past.
Starting in
fall of 2000, school nurses reported student immunization data directly to the
state Health Department. Previously, nurses had funneled information to the
districts, which then reported to the state.
Ogden said
officials are trying to help districts reduce the impact of losing the funds.
Local officials are encouraged to make sure nurses reported the data properly,
for instance, being sure they based attendance on a daily average.
No immunizations,
however, no money, Ogden said.
"Right
now, the law is pretty clear."
Districts,
however, have demonstrated an ability to comply quickly. The June figure of 271
non-compliant students is a significant improvement from the 3,372 students
without immunizations or exemptions first cited in a preliminary November 2000
report.
You can
reach reporter Beth Dove at 625-4225 or bdove@standard.net.
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