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Trustees press district for action as counselors remain stretched; staff outline steps to restore counseling time
Summary
Board members called mental‑health support for students a top priority, citing overloaded counselors and urging a plan; staff said curriculum assistants can assume testing duties to return counselors to 80% counseling time and promised an update at the next meeting.
Trustees at the Dec. 5 meeting emphasized improving mental‑health services and reducing non‑counseling duties for school counselors.
Several trustees said elementary campuses commonly have a single counselor while middle schools have roughly three and high schools seven to eight. Trustees described counselors as "overworked" and urged the district to provide a concrete plan and metrics.
District staff described a strategy that uses curriculum assistants (CAs) to take testing and other administrative tasks at the elementary level so certified counselors can focus about 80% of their time on counseling duties and 20% on other tasks. Staff said federal changes to funding flexibility allowed greater use of CAs in that role and that principals had been briefed; staff offered to provide a verbal summary and a formal written update at the next board meeting describing implementation steps and timelines.
Trustees asked for regular reporting on staffing levels, proposed changes to roles and how the district will measure restored counseling time. Board members also recommended outreach and mental‑health‑awareness programming (quarterly presentations, safe‑space reminders) so students know how to seek help. No hiring changes were approved at the meeting; trustees requested a follow‑up report.
