Mother lobbies to put nurse in every school

TOOELE (AP) — A Tooele mother has launched a petition to lobby the Legislature to put a nurse in every state school.

Paula Tuck has collected 1,400 signatures so far from people who say they are willing to pay more in property taxes to cover the expense. Tuck also is shopping for a lawmaker to sponsor the necessary legislation to get the nurses in schools.

"We need full-time nurses in Tooele — we need them in the state," said Tuck.

Tuck's mission is driven by her 10-year-old daughter's recent asthma attack. Michaela Tuck took too many puffs of medication from her inhaler, causing her heart rate to double and her body to twitch. Doctors later said the girl had taken an overdose of the medication.

Tooele's school district has two part-time nurses to oversee the medical needs of more than 11,000 students. Tuck says that's just not enough.

"I want children to be safe going to school, whether they're my children or not," she said.

Statistically, Utah's rate of one nurse for every 5,824 students is the lowest ratio of nurses to students in the nation, according to the National Association of School Nurses. The national average is one nurse for every 1,461 students.