Morrisville district proposes opioid‑settlement school program; county OKs development work

Sandy Albert, director of student services for Mooresville Graded School District, told the Iredell County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 5 that the district seeks county support to deploy opioid‑settlement funds for a school‑based prevention and intervention program targeting secondary and alternative‑learning students.

The proposal calls for hiring two positions — a licensed student wellness intervention specialist to provide group and individual therapy and a social worker to link families with community supports — and for using evidence‑based screening and rapid‑response protocols. Albert said the district would prioritize students identified under the opioid‑settlement criteria and students traditionally underserved by existing services.

Rodney Harris, who introduced the presentation, said the county will work out the detailed budget and agreements over the next few weeks if the board agrees to pursue the model. Commissioners questioned whether the county should mirror services across both Mooresville and Iredell‑Statesville school systems, how the staffing would be employed, and whether Medicaid billing could support longer‑term sustainability.

The presenters said they are proposing to partner with Partners Behavioral Health to hire and manage clinicians to avoid school‑funding complications and to explore Medicaid billing and other funding streams for sustainability. Commissioners noted the opioid‑settlement funds are available for roughly 18 years and directed staff to return with cost estimates and implementation logistics.

The board gave consent for staff to continue developing the partnership model and to bring back specific funding requests and contract language for future approval.