Counselors, school safety staff and residents urge board to preserve Safe and Drug‑Free Schools positions

Speakers at the Laramie County School District #1 board meeting urged trustees to preserve the district’s Safe and Drug‑Free Schools counselor positions after a federal grant that funded them expired.

At the public‑comment portion, Caleb Hansen, identified himself as a Safe and Drug‑Free preschool counselor at East High School and Kary Junior High, and asked the board to “please consider prioritizing safe and drug‑free schools because I think it is an essential service for our students here,” saying he had sent trustees supporting data by email. He said the counselors provide interventions for students struggling with mental‑health and substance‑use issues that affect learning.

Dylan Ford told trustees that single‑message programs such as DARE have been shown to be ineffective and said evidence supports counselor‑led, holistic interventions. Citing reports he said were published in Health Affairs and The Guardian, Ford said teen deaths related to fentanyl contamination have increased sharply between 2018 and 2023 and argued that trained counselors are a more effective local response.

Mike Fernandez, speaking as the school resource officer at East High School and a crisis intervention coordinator with the Shy Police Department, said the district’s diversion work and counselors reduce referrals to juvenile justice. Fernandez presented local counts and trends for school incidents and said diversion through the Safe and Drug‑Free program led to fewer citations in his experience; he described how fines for nicotine and THC possession typically end the matter without follow‑up unless diversion is used.

Ariana Hansen gave a personal account of participating in the program as a student, saying the counseling and group work helped her stop using substances, graduate from high school, and enroll in college; she said she will begin a master’s program and urged trustees to keep the positions accessible for students who need them.

Board trustees did not vote on the program during the meeting. The public‑comment period ended and the meeting proceeded to staff reports and agenda business. Speakers explicitly asked the board to advocate with district administration to find funding solutions; no decision on funding was made at the meeting.

The comments were delivered during the board’s public‑comment period and are on the record with the district for further consideration.