A McKinney-Vento liaison told the Mount Vernon Board of Education on June 3 that reassigning district liaisons risks disrupting services for students in temporary housing and urged that experienced personnel handle the work.

Ramona Parker, who said she has served as a McKinney-Vento liaison and began work in the district in 2016, told trustees that she and another liaison, Doctor Reynolds, were reassigned to school-building social-worker roles and that attendance teachers would assume McKinney-Vento responsibilities. “I just worry that this decision might have been made in haste,” she said, describing the district’s large temporarily housed student population and the discretion needed to preserve family anonymity.

Parker explained the federal basis for the role: “McKinney-Vento Homeless Student Act is a federal law under ESSA that requires all students either in temporary living accommodation or whose housing is at risk to be identified and captured under that law,” she said. She listed common McKinney-Vento needs, including families doubled up in other households, students separated from guardians, those in process of eviction and students staying in emergency shelters.

Parker told trustees the district currently identifies about 830 McKinney-Vento students and said she and Doctor Reynolds moved across the district “very discreetly as to maintain the anonymity of our students and their families.” She urged the board to ensure whoever takes over the liaison duties is experienced and understands how to respond to calls about students sleeping outdoors or families without shelter, because “the risks are just too high” if inexperienced staff handle those duties.

The superintendent and trustees acknowledged Parker’s remarks and said they would follow up. No formal action was taken during the meeting to reverse the reassignment.

Parker said McKinney-Vento liaisons accept referrals from building staff and community members, assess needs and immediately meet them, including when families are ineligible for shelter placement. She requested that the board ensure continuity of experienced staffing for the 830 students identified under McKinney-Vento.