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District presents MIHAS data showing drops in self‑reported bullying and suicidal ideation; alcohol use remains above state average
Summary
District staff presented MIHAS survey results showing declines in reported bullying, persistent sadness and students seriously considering suicide since 2023, while high‑school alcohol use remains significantly higher than the state average; board discussed sharing data with families and targeting middle‑school supports.
District staff presented results from the Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIHAS) at the April 2 MSAD 51 school board meeting, reporting improvements in several mental‑health indicators but noting persistent concerns in substance access and help‑seeking.
Eric Brown, the district’s risk‑assessment mental‑health specialist, said middle‑school results showed a drop in students reporting feeling bullied on school property from 44% in 2023 to 40.6% in 2025 and that the share of students who had seriously considered suicide fell from 20.8% to 11.9%. “In 2025 it had gone down quite a bit. So I was absolutely thrilled to see that trend,” Brown said while walking the board through comparative state figures.
Tiffany McFitress, a Gley High School social worker, said 391 high‑school students took the survey and that lifetime alcohol use at the high school is near 49.6%, which the presenters reported is about 9.1 percentage points higher than the state average and is a statistically significant difference. “Our students here are reporting 9.1% higher than the state average,” McFitress said of lifetime alcohol use at the high school.
Presenters emphasized several positive signals — reductions in reported vaping, marijuana and cigarette use, and high overall feelings of safety (GHS: 91.2% reported feeling safe, statistically higher than the state average). They also flagged areas that still need attention: an increase in reported nonprescription pain‑medication use among younger students (GMS: 8.6% lifetime pain‑medication misuse) and a decline in students reporting that at least one teacher ‘really cares’ at the middle school.
Board members asked about statistical significance, distribution of results across grades and whether the district can make the data more accessible to parents. McFitress and Brown said the district will work to publish and share summarized results and consider recorded clips and building‑level summaries for families and staff. “We could do a better job sharing the information,” Brown said.
The board discussed how the data should shape decisions for FY27 budgeting and middle‑school programming, with several members urging that counseling and other mental‑health supports be prioritized in budget deliberations. The administration said multiple staff, programs and trainings (advisory, NAMI gatekeeper, suicide awareness) are already in place and that the data will inform targeted investments.
Next steps: staff said they will explore clearer parent access to MIHAS results and use the data in planning; the board did not take a formal vote on policy or new positions at this meeting.
