Mental health improvements would cost schools $202M

Broward County schools would have to spend about $202 million to provide the recommended number of mental health professionals for students and families, a district report says.

The daunting price tag was included in a 72-page presentation School Board members discussed Tuesday. District officials also received updates on what’s been done in response to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas massacre from Feb. 14 and what may be planned for the future.

Mental health has been a major focus of the district since the tragedy. The killer was a former student who suffered mental illness and a consultant’s report outlined several errors in how the district served him. The shooting has also increased the need of students and faculty members suffering from trauma.

In order to meet the recommendation from professional counseling and health organizations, the district would need: 437 school counselors

312 psychologists

816 family therapists

830 social workers

170 nurses

School Board members say they plan to lobby the state for more money to hire more staff, which would total $202.3 million if fully funded.

“I don’t think we’ll get $200 million unless we hit the Powerball,” Board Chairwoman Nora Rupert said. “But we’ll make a dent in it.”

Voters approved a referendum Aug. 28 that will provide the district $93 million a year for four years. Most of that will be used for teacher raises, but the district is allocating about $7.4 million for additional counselors, social workers and behavior specialists. The money, which would pay for about 93 additional positions, will be available starting next school year.

District data show that Broward has a better ratio of mental health professionals to students than the state but still far below recommended standards.

Broward has a ratio of 1 school psychologist for 1,630 students. The recommended

average is 1 for 500, a district report says.

For school social workers, the district has a ratio of 1 to 1,936, which is much higher than the recommended ratio of one to 250 recommended by national counseling groups.

But Superintendent Robert Runcie said the district will make a lot of progress with the referendum dollars, even if it doesn’t come close to the target numbers.

“The recommended industry

ratios are aspirational numbers,” he said. “They are not even national averages.”

The district wants more mental health staff to better identify issues children face before a crisis ensues, as well as to support families dealing with trauma, such as fears about school safety.

The district has been working with a number of local, national and international organizations to deal with mental health issues since Stoneman Douglas, including the Global Center for School Counseling, the University of South Carolina and Broward Behavioral Health Coalition.

Organizations have provided counseling, as well as training on everything from identifying troubled students to using meditation as a way to relieve anxiety. They’ve held a number of workshops for students, staff and the public.

“These collaborations are something we hope to continue for many years to come,” Rupert said.