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District proposes family‑school liaison to address chronic absenteeism, multilingual outreach and basic‑needs barriers
Summary
Administrators proposed a non‑clinical family‑school liaison (approx. $45,000 mid‑market) to perform proactive home visits, connect families to town and regional services, reduce police home visits for attendance, and improve multilingual engagement; the board sought comparisons and evidence of need.
District administrators proposed creating a family‑school liaison (FSL) role to address rising chronic absenteeism and growing family needs tied to language barriers, housing and food insecurity.
Superintendent Jer described multiple recent cases—families needing help with heating oil, food and transportation—and said school staff now triage many basic‑needs requests, pulling principals, social workers and multilingual teachers away from instruction. “We’re sending police officers to homes to get kids in school, and that’s just not a good look,” Jer said, arguing a dedicated non‑clinical FSL could provide proactive outreach and navigation to town and regional services.
Administrators said the proposed FSL would be a non‑clinical, often bilingual role priced mid‑market in the backup ($45,000 cited as a target), with examples in comparable nearby districts. Board members asked whether adding a social worker instead would be preferable; administrators said an FSL is less costly and focused on navigation and engagement rather than clinical therapy.
The board asked for more comparative data from the backup materials and for clearer outcomes measures; administrators said the district would provide additional information ahead of the final budget vote. No personnel were hired during the workshop.
