JWP scrutinizes Narcan policy

At their Sept. 15 meeting, members of the Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (JWP) school board asked superintendent Jeremy Erler to acquire more information about a proposed policy regarding medications like Narcan, a substance which can save the the life of someone experiencing unconsciousness and possibly approaching death to due to an opioid overdose. Narcan can be administered either by a nasal spray or an injection. 

 

The Minnesota legislature recently made it acceptable for schools to allow one student to administer the medication to another in an emergency, however some board members vocalized concerns about adding it to the district’s policies.

 

“I thought it was interesting they would allow other students to administer it and not require an adult,” board member Laura Seys stated regarding the legislature’s decision. Erler responded suggesting the policy might be based on the circumstance that, even if unconsciousness results from a source other than an opioid, there are no “contraindications,” that is, the substance will not cause harm.

 

Seys suggested that Erler bring the topic to the Waseca County Family Services Collaborative governing board, which Erler is a member of, to see what they think. Seys stated she is open to the idea if it creates the opportunity to save a life.

 

Erler informed board members the substance is kept in numerous locations within the school, and primarily in the nurse’s office. Board member Monica Erickson mentioned access to the substance is important and described a time when an overdose occurred during drivers’ education class in the evening, when other doors and offices were locked.

 

“We have to have it on site within this building and we have to have it down at the athletic complex,” Erler said. “So it’s in the concession stand down there.”

 

He said the topic was discussed very briefly at the law conference he attended earlier that day, on Sept. 15.

 

“They basically just said because it is such a life and death emergency, if the only other person around is another student, they don’t want that person to not administer it because they think they’re going to get in trouble,” another board member said.

 

In other business, Erler expressed how “incredibly well” the Chromebooks situation is going.

 

“The teachers have control and long-term and short-term loaners are working together as planned,” he added.

 

In all, the long-term loaners amount to eighty for the entire school year and between sixty to seventy Chromebooks can be checked out on a daily basis if need be, he added. He also said elementary principal Jeff Adams and high school principal David Rysdam are working to set up a math curriculum committee.

 

“Standards will be fully implemented in the 2026-27 school year,” Erler stated. “They’ll be tested on for Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) testing in the 2027-28 school year.”

 

The other subject area which is up for renewal is Social Studies, he added.

 

He reported that the comprehensive reading in the elementary school adapted a more rigorous curriculum than the previous one and expressed positivity about that after he sat in with a few Professional School Counselors (PSCs).

 

“I was surprised hearing third-grade vocabulary, being like the word ‘meander,’” Erler said. “The kids are using it on a daily basis in the classroom in the correct content areas and ways.”

 

Regarding finances, the school board approved its preliminary levy at the statewide proposed maximum, a figure determined by a state-set formula, the factors of which have not all been released, so it is not a specific number, business manager Wendy Dieker said. She also explained that by Sept. 30, the levy system will be closed. She added that after the school board approves its preliminary levy, Waseca County sends out preliminary statements in November, allowing taxpayers the chance to attend “Truth in Taxation” meetings where they can ask questions. A final levy must be determined by the end of December; it can be lower than the preliminary number, but not higher.

 

As she shared budget information, Dieker indicated school leaders had been working to trim an initially proposed budget of $2.5 million down to less than $2.1 million, but also mentioned an anticipated $500,000 decrease in state funding due to a number of causes, most importantly declining enrollment. She added work on the budget will continue for the next few months.  

 

In other business, the school board also approved the updated price increases for adult meals by ten cents for breakfast and 25 cents for lunch.

 

The school board officially accepted donations of $1,000 from Steele-Waseca Co-op Electric for a scholarship fund and $3,000 from PrairieCare Fund for the Bully the Blues Project Hope.