Lemon Grove board directs legal action, adopts resolution after federal grant cut for school mental‑health services

The Lemon Grove School District Board of Trustees directed the superintendent to initiate legal action against the U.S. Department of Education after the federal agency notified the district it would end its school‑based mental health grant early, and the board unanimously approved a resolution urging restoration of the funding and soliciting community testimony.

The move came after a closed‑session report that, according to the record, said “the board directed the superintendent to initiate legal action against the United States Department of Education regarding the federal government threatening termination of school based mental health grant funding, which the district has received since January 2023.” The board later brought the matter to the open session for formal resolution.

The resolution, presented by Superintendent Benson, recounts that the original grant award was “a little over $2,700,000,” intended for a five‑year period, and that the department’s decision cut the award short by two years, “resulting in a loss of over $1,100,000.” Benson said the district used the grant to hire mental‑health professionals, lower provider‑to‑student ratios, and deliver targeted interventions across the district’s eight schools.

The board’s resolution urges the U.S. Department of Education to reconsider and calls on “our federal, state and local elected officials to advocate for alternative funding sources to ensure continuity of mental health services.” It also directs the district to continue working with community partners and to invite families to share personal accounts of how the services affected them. Trustee comments emphasized the importance of collecting firsthand stories for advocacy; the board agreed to share the adopted resolution with local representatives and relevant associations.

Formal action on the resolution was moved and seconded at the meeting and carried unanimously. The board also announced that, “once formally commenced, more specific information shall be disclosed” about the legal action when appropriate.

The board did not specify a timeline for filing suit, nor did it provide more detailed legal strategy in open session. The resolution asks the community to submit statements and noted the district would communicate logistical details for submitting testimony.

The district’s next steps named in public session are (1) to proceed with the legal action directive from closed session; (2) to distribute the adopted resolution to elected officials and partners; and (3) to solicit and compile family and community testimonies to support advocacy efforts.