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Boone County board honors Ethan's Purpose; public raises alarm about counselor cuts at RA Jones
Summary
Superintendent presented the Achieving Excellence Award to Ethan's Purpose for mental‑health work; public commenters urged the board to address reported counselor reductions at RA Jones, saying one counselor cannot meet the school's needs.
The Boone County Board of Education presented the Achieving Excellence Award to Debbie and Richard Zegara, cofounders of the nonprofit Ethan's Purpose, while public commenters urged the board to address alleged counselor reductions at RA Jones and to retain counseling positions.
Superintendent Dr. Hauswald introduced Ethan's Purpose as the award recipient and described the group's work supporting youth mental health in the district. "For 8 years, Ethan's Purpose has supported Boone County Schools' youth mental health initiatives," Dr. Hauswald said, noting the organization has trained about 520 teachers, administrators and community members in QPR suicide‑prevention methods, presented Ethan's Challenge to more than 5,700 students, and awarded two $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors. He also said the nonprofit has helped fund a peer‑to‑peer Hope Squad program that the district plans to expand to all middle and high schools in Boone County over the next four years.
During the public‑comment portion of the meeting, Leslie Chambers said RA Jones had removed two counselors, including Dr. Hickey, and had assigned counseling responsibilities to an assistant principal and a behavior coach. "We head into the new school year with 1 counselor for more than 700 students," Chambers said, arguing the staffing changes risked IEP noncompliance and student safety. Chairman Parks reminded the speaker that the board cannot discuss individual personnel matters in open session and asked commenters to avoid naming staff when raising concerns.
Other commenters urged retention of counselors. Mr. Lay said counselors such as Cravens, James, Noel and Dr. Hickey had strong relationships with students and should remain. Naomi Lipson, who said she had experience with in‑school suspension as a teenager, urged keeping in‑school suspension options in middle school to provide structure and accommodate working parents.
The board did not take immediate corrective action regarding the RA Jones staffing claims during the open meeting; personnel matters were noted as outside the scope of open‑session discussion. The meeting record shows the board later moved to executive session pursuant to KRS 61.810 for matters specified by law.
