Rochester parents, advocates press RCSD for more mental-health, safety and instructional resources at budget hearing

Chrissy Miller, a Rochester resident who works with families in the community, told the Rochester City School District budget hearing on April 1 that “we need more money to support our babies,” saying “40 percent of our girls have depression” and urging district funding for both student groups and family training in mental health.

The call for increased mental-health resources was echoed across several speakers during the public comment portion. Stephanie Krause, a parent of two children at Anna Murray-Douglass School 12, said the school’s staffing reductions left one school safety officer to cover “over 4,740 students from pre-K to sixth grade” after the position count fell from three to one, and asked the district to restore safety staffing and maintain instructional coaches used for intervention and curriculum work. Krause also urged the district to address food waste, describing uneaten meals as a fiscal and environmental concern.

Melissa Rodriguez Meehan, an early-childhood professor at Brockport and parent in RCSD, urged the…