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School health advisory board urges major increase in mental‑health staff for CCPS
Summary
The School Health Advisory Board asked the Chesterfield County School Board to fund multiple new mental‑health positions — including social workers, psychologists and diagnosticians — and urged the board to use upcoming work sessions to identify funding strategies.
Dr. Lindseay Euan, outgoing chair of the School Health Advisory Board, told the school board at its Sept. 9 work session that the committee’s top priority continues to be expanding mental‑health staffing across Chesterfield County Public Schools.
“Our hope is that this academic year the school board can spend some time during work sessions to brainstorm some ways to make that funding possible,” Dr. Euan said as she outlined SHAB’s recommended positions.
SHAB recommended adding six social‑work positions, two attendance social‑work positions, six school psychologists, six educational diagnosticians and one additional school nurse, and it asked the board to budget for additional positions as new schools open. Euan said the recommendations reflect work SHAB did with CCPS social‑work and psychology leaders to identify the highest needs.
Euan cited national and state mental‑health trends and local survey data to make the case for staffing increases. She said indicators of poor mental health among children and adolescents have worsened in the past decade and referenced state school‑climate results showing substantial percentages of students who have seriously considered suicide.
Board members responded with thanks to Euan for her service and for the report. Several members expressed appreciation for SHAB’s role in advising on policy issues — including recent discussions around cell‑phone discipline and policies relating to transgender students — and signaled interest in continuing the conversation on staffing and funding during future work sessions.
The advisory board noted that new telehealth services (Hazel Health) are rolling out for grades 6–12 but emphasized those services are complementary to, not a substitute for, district‑based social workers and psychologists who perform risk assessments, identify high‑risk students, coordinate individualized education programs and provide in‑class supports.
What happens next: SHAB asked the board to put staffing and funding options on upcoming work‑session agendas so members and staff can develop concrete strategies for the 2026 budget cycle.
