Staff presented the district’s Mental Health Assistance Allocation plan and a budget that funds counselors and mental‑health specialists across school levels.

Why it matters: school-based mental-health staff provide counseling, crisis response and connections to community behavioral-health providers; decisions on how to spend the state allocation determine school-level access to services.

The plan—briefed by staff and identified in the backup materials—shows the district received just under $1.1 million for the allocation (slightly less than the prior year). The allocation will support: six dedicated school counselors paid through the allocation (the district reported 33 total counselors overall), one full-time mental-health certified school social worker focusing on high schools and attendance, and three mental-wellness specialists who will be scheduled on two-week rotations among schools to deliver Tier 3 interventions. The district will continue contracts and interagency agreements with community partners such as Legacy, New Horizons and other local providers to supplement school-based services.

Board member questions focused on ratios and coverage. When a board member asked about counselor-to-student ratios, staff said the district’s counselor ratio (roughly one counselor per 400 students) is comparable to neighboring counties. For the Tier 3 mental-wellness specialists, staff told the board the effective ratio—if divided over the whole enrollment—would appear large (about 1:1,800), but those specialists serve a smaller, high‑need Tier 3 cohort rather than the entire student body.

Staff said the allocation includes funding for mileage, professional development and the mental-health administrator position (Sarah Ainge). Charter schools that opted to submit their own plans were shown the amounts that would apply to them under the allocation.

No formal action was taken; the plan was presented for board review as required by the allocation rules.