One day last week, my daughter was left, alone, in the health office at Washburn School in Auburn, while nauseous, vomiting. 

The health assistant has to split time between Washburn and East Auburn schools, not by her own choice. Apparently no one gave the memo to the kids that they can only get sick on alternating days.

When her mother arrived, our child was alone in the health office, covered with vomit. The school secretary couldn’t leave the main office unattended. 

We certainly don’t blame the secretary for leaving our daughter alone. We don’t blame the health assistant for being at East Auburn. My question is, what would have happened if our daughter had been having an allergic reaction to something? Or seizures? Or an injury on the playground? What about the children with chronic conditions and are on regular medications?

The secretary is not trained for this kind of service, and should not be responsible to provide it. In these days of food allergies and the frequency of asthma, it seems reckless to leave an elementary school without health staff.

Charles Clark, Auburn