Beloit School District outlines $200,000+ in pupil‑services grants, plans programs for opioid prevention and recovery supports

School District of Beloit staff presented a summary of pupil‑services grants and grant applications during the June 17 meeting, describing both awarded funds and pending proposals intended to expand behavioral‑health supports, family programming and nursing services.

Eric Weir and Melissa Beavers summarized the largest awards. The district reported a $50,000 award from a DPI opioid‑prevention competitive program, funded from opioid settlement distributions. The district plans to use the money to implement the Strengthening Families program, an evidence‑based family‑focused prevention series that combines parent and youth lessons and a shared family practice session; the district expects to train 20 staff in August and launch sessions in September or October.

Beavers and Weir also described a $75,000 recovery high‑school planning grant authorized under Wisconsin Act 72 for planning support with the Association of Recovery Schools; the district said the funds were received in March and spent on coaching and technical assistance as it develops an implementation plan for a recovery‑focused high‑school model.

Ryan Turner, the district safety and security coordinator, said the district used $1,800 in community dollars to purchase 10 Stop‑the‑Bleed kits to install across school buildings and train staff; the district plans to expand when more funding becomes available.

Other awards and requests discussed included a $600 Stateline Community Foundation award to support postsecondary visits for high‑school students with disabilities, a tele‑nursing grant that allowed Bellin Health nurses to remotely support school health offices, and a stock short‑acting bronchodilator program to provide rescue inhalers at school.

The district also listed pending applications: a two‑year Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse grant (applied for $50,000, contingent on state biennial budget approval), a Transition Readiness grant ($37,955 requested to fund driver’s education and licensing fees for up to 30 students with IEPs and transition‑planning professional development, anticipated award July 2025), and a second round recovery‑school planning application for an additional $100,000.

Beavers told the board the 2024–25 package of awards and pending proposals totaled more than $200,000 in external funding targeted at family engagement, prevention, nursing access and postsecondary planning.

Why it matters: The grants expand district capacity for evidence‑based family programming, substance‑use recovery planning and clinical supports that district staff said cannot be sustained solely through general fund budgets.