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Springdale announces $600,000 PREP award to fund prevention and recovery specialists
Summary
District leaders said they secured $600,000 in PREP funds to hire four prevention/recovery specialists to serve elementary and secondary schools; the program will focus on prevention, early intervention and family outreach over two years.
The Springdale School District announced at its April board meeting that it will receive PREP (prevention/recovery/education) funds totaling $600,000 over two years to hire four prevention and recovery specialists who will serve elementary and secondary campuses.
District staff said the positions will support proactive prevention, early identification and intervention for at‑risk students, coordinate family outreach, collaborate with counselors and nurses, and provide substance‑abuse prevention education and school‑wide prevention programming. "In the amount of $600,000 over the next 2 years," an official told the board when announcing the award.
Administrators said the arrangement will also save the district roughly $200,000 by allowing some current employees to be paid from contracted PREP funds rather than local operating dollars; the positions will include additional training and certification opportunities. The district identified a regional prevention provider, Deb Crawford of Community Clinic, as a partner on the initiative.
Officials described PREP funding as coming from settlements related to opioid litigation and noted state coordination in the program rollout. Staff said Springdale will have four of the planned regional prevention specialist positions and that the model is being observed by other states for replication.
The board did not take a formal vote on the award at the meeting; district staff indicated implementation details and partner assignments will follow during routine administrative planning.
