WEA Foundation and Delta Dental commit $100,000 to Stevens Point schools' mental‑health efforts

The Stevens Point Area Public School District announced that the WEA Member Benefits Foundation and Delta Dental of Wisconsin are each committing $50,000 over three years to support district mental‑health initiatives for students and staff. Superintendent Corey introduced the donors and asked district staff to outline how the funds will be used.

The donations were presented during the board meeting by Jenny McMahon, who said the funds will support “professional development and resources that our teachers might not otherwise be able to have” and will help pay for direct services for students who need mental‑health supports. Steve Goldberg of the WEA Member Benefits Foundation said the foundation provides “starter grants” and partners with local donors to help districts raise additional money; he noted the foundation chose Stevens Point because the district’s approach to student mental health is “strategic, it's multi‑tiered, and it gets the job done.”

Shannon Semmerling of Delta Dental of Wisconsin said her organization will match the foundation's grant and described the gifts as unrestricted: “Unrestricted. So may our match inspire more partners to join us in supporting your efforts to address mental health across many, many communities.” She added that oral health and overall health are connected to mental health and that Delta Dental hopes the match will encourage other donors.

Superintendent Corey also briefed the board on several other recent community gifts: Aspirus donated $5,000 from its community benefit program, Cooper Oil donated $17,734, and the Rotary Club donated $2,000. Board members and donors joined students and staff at the meeting for a brief presentation and photographs.

Nut graf: The combined commitments from the WEA Member Benefits Foundation and Delta Dental create a three‑year funding stream intended to expand staff training and remove cost barriers for student mental‑health services; district leaders said they will use the unrestricted funds to support both professional development and direct services.

In discussion and remarks, the presenters emphasized the extent of unmet mental‑health need in Wisconsin public schools. Goldberg cited statistics used by the foundation in its statewide outreach and said additional local fundraising will follow to augment the two organizations’ contributions. McMahon said the district will use the money to increase access to services and to support staff training that would otherwise be cost‑prohibitive.

Ending: District staff did not present a detailed budget plan for the grants during the meeting; McMahon said the district will outline specific uses as the programs and partnerships develop.