Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Federal Education Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
USD 383 officials warn federal grant freeze is limiting after-school slots; district explores no-cost telehealth mental-health services
Summary
Superintendent's report said state education officials have frozen roughly $500,000 in federal funds that support Title programs and Boys & Girls Club partnerships; district leaders also described a potential three-year telehealth mental-health funding opportunity that would provide counseling at no cost to families if accepted.
During the superintendent's report on July 16, USD 383 administrators warned that a freeze on certain federal funds is constraining after-school programming and described a separate telehealth mental-health funding opportunity.
"It's about half a million dollars that are frozen right now," said the superintendent, summarizing a Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) briefing. He listed affected programs and approximate amounts as Title II-A (professional development) at about $200,000; Title III (English language acquisition) at about $40,000; Title IV-A (student support) at about $84,000; and Title IV-B (21st Century grants flowing to Boys & Girls Club) at about $200,000.
District leaders told the board Boys & Girls Club — a community partner that operates after-school programs at elementary and middle schools — has limited enrollment because of the funding uncertainty. Administrators said some elementary sites that previously hosted robust numbers are seeing substantially reduced after-school rosters, and that parents and staff are feeling the strain.
Separately, the district said its health-insurance partner identified a federally funded program, via a vendor described as National Telehealth Solutions, that could pay for telehealth mental-health services for students, staff and families for three years at no cost to the district. The superintendent described services that would be available under the program, saying it would include "24/7 unlimited mental health counseling, in-person counseling, video counseling, behavioral mental health therapy, also psychiatry and medication management, subclinical coaching, life management services, text therapy, digital cognitive behavioral therapy, and pediatric behavioral health." He said the program would be a flow-through cost of roughly $5,000,000 over three years to the vendor as people use the service but would be offered as an opt-in resource to families and staff.
Administrators said they plan to bring a funding request to the board in August to secure the telehealth funding if the district decides to proceed; no final decision was made at the July 16 meeting. The board was also told the district received KSDE approval to change the Head Start application scope, which shifts infant/toddler early-head-start seats to more typical early-learning classrooms for ages 3 and 4 and that administrators will work on the transition plan.
District staff also reported central registration opened and that online registration was at 37% after two days; new-educator orientation is scheduled to begin July 30.
