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Parents, students and mental-health workers urge Hamilton County board to vet providers and restore services
Summary
Public commenters told the Hamilton County School Board the district’s gap in student mental-health services is harming children and urged the board to vet potential providers for neutrality and capacity, warning against selecting a single faith-based provider without broader options.
Cassie Almond, a psychology major at UTC who said she has worked for years in community mental-health settings, told the Hamilton County School Board on Thursday that gaps in district mental-health services are causing real harm to students and urged the board to act with urgency.
"I've sat on the floor with these kids while they sobbed about wanting to end their life," Almond said during the public-comment period, describing students with severe trauma and suicidality and urging the board not to "keep dragging our feet." She asked the board, "when considering your vote on potential providers later this evening," to ensure selected organizations are "neutral, non politically affiliated, non religiously affiliated, or otherwise biased providers that can physically and literally meet these kids where they're at." (Cassie Almond identified herself and gave a local address during remarks.)
Several other speakers echoed concerns about provider choice and the pace of restoring services. Ada Herndon (District 1) warned that "if you vote to instate that organization alone, there will be more noise than you have ever experienced," calling a sole faith-based selection "hypocritical and unjust" and urging the board to allow "a diverse set of institutions to care for all students." Sabrina Daniel, a retired teacher, told the board she opposes outsourcing student care to outside groups without clear vetting and named several local counseling centers she said should be on any parent-facing list.
Mark Herndon urged the board to approve organizations that "have met the criteria," saying, "our kids actually do matter," and Reed Hampton, a Signal Mountain Middle High School student, appealed to board members to "remember why you ran" and to place students' interests first.
The board did not take a formal vote on provider selection during the work session. Vice Chair Gary read the board's rules for public comment at the start of the session and noted that speaker remarks are limited to three minutes; multiple speakers on the same topic share a 10-minute allotment.
What happens next: Jeanette O'Mourkel, president of HCA, said a team representing both the district and teachers will be presented to the board next month to confer on several topics, and board members indicated the provider-selection item would be discussed further at upcoming meetings. The board did not announce a provider selection at this work session.
