NORWICH – The Norwich City School District has entered early discussions that may see the return of a school-based health center for students.

Members of the NCSD Board of Education balanced the pros and cons of having a school-based health center during their monthly meeting last week, thrashing out how a center would be a benefit to students and parents; as well as the price tag at which it comes. The district is mulling over a possible contract with Bassett Healthcare, a locally based healthcare network with 19 school-based sites across 14 districts in Chenango, Otsego, Delaware and Schoharie counties.

According to NCSD Deputy Superintendent Robert Wightman, discussions are in the preliminary stages, but there is a possibility that a center may be open as early as September. It would be the first health center in the Norwich City School District since Chenango Memorial Hospital exited its agreement with the school in 2010.

“This is something that we’re very interested in,” Wightman said, noting the school’s decision to approach Bassett. “(Bassett) can serve a variety of different needs and we thought they would be a good fit.”

Bassett currently oversees two school-based health centers in Chenango County, one at the Sherburne-Earlville Central School District and the other at the Unadilla Valley School District. Wightman said Norwich intents to collaborate with those districts to gain better understanding of the relationship between Bassett and local schools.