School Nurse Pay

[Mseag94]

Hi there!  I’m new to the AllNurses community!  I just interviewed for a school nurse position at a local elementary school.  I love everything, except it would be a HUGE pay cut for me (they start at $24,000). ?  I know this topic has been brought up, but I didn’t see much about school nurses in my state (Georgia).  I’m also in a more rural area. I just want to make sure this pay is typical for a more rural school.  I would love hearing from other nurses about salary as a school nurse!  Thank you!

[k1p1ssk, BSN, RN]

I would imagine, that yes, that is typical for a rural, southern public school, based on what I've seen/heard, but I could be wrong, as there are a lot of variables for school nurse pay. This includes whether or not the school/district accepts LPNs, RNs, or requires a BSN or higher, whether nurses are contracted as the teachers, welcome in the union, salaried vs. hourly, rural vs. suburban vs. urban, working a full year vs. getting the Summer off, taking on more than one school, etc.

I'm in MA in a rural district; There is a full time nurse at each of the 3 schools in the district, and we are a part of the teachers' union and on the same pay-scale contract as the teachers, and we are required to have a BSN and obtain "professional status" within 3 years of starting, which means either obtain a masters in a relevant field or pass the NBCSN exam. The starting salary for teachers & nurses with a BSN only in our district this year was around $43K, but we are only contracted to work 8:30-3:15 M-F, from Late August through Mid-June. I did the math once, and if I broke it down into an hourly rate, it was comparable to my base pay when I worked in the hospital, and with all the time off you get as a school nurse (think every weekend, all major holidays, and in most cases, summers off) it was a no-brainer for me. No more fighting for vacation weeks!

I hope this helps!

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

It definitely depends on the district and the contract. If they have nurses under the paraprofessional umbrella, pay is significantly lower. In our district, we are on a teachers contract so we are on the same step scale as teachers. Until the pandemic, a minimum of BSN was required. They dropped that requirement in order to get nurses into school this year, so ADN nurses are here, but enjoy the same contract as the BSNs and teachers.  

I suspect that will change, and the ADNs hired will be grandfathered, and the requirement will go back to BSN.  

[sleepwalker, MSN, NP]

Wife is a school nurse in DE. She's an RN with a Master's degree. On the same pay scale as the teachers...with her degree and years of experience she makes $70k/yr...a year being from late August to mid June. She enjoys having off the weekends and holidays

[Rnis, BSN, DNP, APRN, NP]

On 6/9/2021 at 7:56 AM, sleepwalker said:

Wife is a school nurse in DE. She's an RN with a Master's degree. On the same pay scale as the teachers...with her degree and years of experience she makes $70k/yr...a year being from late August to mid June. She enjoys having off the weekends and holidays

That is how it's done where I live.  The main school district prefers master's degrees

 

[k1p1ssk, BSN, RN]

I meant to add in my earlier post that generally speaking, the nurses in my district move up a "step" each year (this year, I think because of covid, I was granted a 2-step increase). This equates to an increase in pay. There are 15 steps, and when you reach the top, there is a cost of living raise (which everyone gets, but its worth more the higher the step you're on) and once you reach 20, 25, and 30 years of service, there is an additional longevity pay out each year (which increases at those time increments).

[jenOK9]

I am starting as a school nurse this August too.  I will  make $38000, half of my hospital income!  I am doing this to be on the same schedule as my teen.  

 

[sahmwannabe, BSN]

I was a school nurse in South Georgia.  We were not a teacher's pay scale.  Pay was quite low.  You can see salaries on open Georgia dot gov (just Google).  It is quite eye opening.  Good luck!

[RatherBHiking, BSN, RN]

I live in the eastern part of the US in a very rural area. Starting out here is around $38,000/yr. After 19 years I'm up to a whopping $50,000. I will retire at around $55,000 if I stay with it. Our contract is for 200 days but we only work 180 of those. It's like $35/hr for the actual hourly rate of the days I work. So if you think of it like a part time job it's better money. LOL!

[jenOK9]

Well, I think there is a worthwhile trade-off for me. I am liking this job so far. The schools are such a different environment than the hospital, and I come home not exhausted. The schedule is so nice for my family!  I can always pick up some hours in the Summer doing something else. Or maybe I will just live a little more frugally...yeah that one. 

[Avill, BSN, RN]

When I started I made about 44k a year, then they gave everybody raises and our "steps" increased our pay tremendously is you had a Bachelor's. 

Now we got another raise and I will be earning about 57k , 5 years in. It really isn't bad pay. Especially since I have all my holidays off. 

Depending on where you work they pay you more if you have an RN vs LPN or Bachelors VS Associates ect. 

 

I would ask if this is your situation.