Erie County school nurses

Why, oh why does Erie County supply and pay for school nurses? Why can't the school boards themselves hire school nurses, if they feel the need? The Buffalo News reports that Judge Makowski asked county officials to keep a "skeleton crew" of nurses in the city school system to service the 300-400 (!) kids who need them every day. The city's own budget is about $438 million/year. The city school budget is about $656 million/year, and most of that money comes from Albany. The schools also acknowledge that enrollment in 2004-2005 is down 13% as compared with the previous year. Couldn't the school district spare 1/656th of its budget to retain the nurses?