District wins SEEDS federal grant and additional federal funding to support early‑childhood mental health and staff positions
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Summary
Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Barrett announced federal funding awards: a SEEDS project grant (PK–2 mental health supports, roughly $2.9M over four years) beginning Jan. 1, 2026, continuation/extra funds for an existing SMART grant, and a career coaching grant; the district plans to hire additional psychologists and use carryover where necessary.
Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Barrett told the school board the district received multiple grants that will fund staff and programs focused on early‑childhood mental health and career coaching.
Barrett said the district was awarded the SEEDS project grant (Strengthening Early Childhood Emotional Development in Schools), a federal grant covering PK–2 services that begins Jan. 1 and runs through Dec. 31, 2029. "You can see there the amounts, roughly over $700,000 each year for a total of just, just over $2,900,000," Barrett said, and added the grant will allow the district to hire two licensed school psychologists and up to three psychologists in training over the grant life.
Barrett also said the U.S. Department of Education continued the district's SMART grant and added approximately $700,000 to that funding stream, and that the Indiana Department of Education career coaching grant (through ROI) — which funds the EHS career coach position — was continued. She emphasized that these are specific, restricted grants and "they’re not just, hey, here's some money that you can boost your education fund with." She explained grant budgets are tightly constrained and cannot be repurposed to cover district operations.
On staffing and sustainability, Barrett described a strategy of training and backfilling positions: some grant‑funded staff can be carried forward as carryover funds, and the district is exploring how to use carryover strategically without creating funding cliffs when grants end. She noted talent pipeline considerations for school psychologists and described internal movements of personnel to preserve services while using grant resources prudently.
Barrett also reported 23 teachers had applied for the TAG grant as of the meeting, with the final application date on Jan. 9; awards are expected to be roughly $3,500 per teacher (net amounts subject to taxes and withholdings). The assistant superintendent said the district is planning how to sustain grant‑funded positions beyond the grant period but made clear there are no promises beyond each grant’s life.
What’s next: The SEEDS grant staff hires and program rollout are planned for the next school year; board materials and further staffing details will be provided as the district finalizes hiring and carryover plans.