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Public commenters urge Calvert committee to prioritize counselors, suicide prevention and community‑based supports
Summary
During public comment, residents and providers highlighted counselor vacancies, high local suicide figures and the need for trauma‑informed and speech‑language supports. Commenters urged the committee to track data and coordinate with the school district and community partners.
Public commenters at the Calvert County Student Safety and Well‑being Advisory Committee meeting focused on mental‑health staffing, student supports and community resources.
Murdoch, speaking for Peace Through Action USA and the Calvert Peace Project, asked whether the committee's findings would be shared with the Board of Education and asked whether schools missing dedicated school resource officers were compliant with state requirements. Titus (school system representative) said the district reports SRO coverage and that secondary schools are fully staffed while some elementary coverage is shared; he said the system is "working toward" dedicated coverage.
Several residents and providers urged a stronger focus on counseling, speech pathology and early interventions. Shelly Baden, a parent and vice chair of CCAC, stressed that "behavior is communication" and pointed to speech‑language deficits, food insecurity and prenatal trauma as drivers of classroom conduct. Joseph Cormier urged investment in early and family‑focused interventions and reminded the committee to include support staff such as bus drivers and cafeteria workers in planning.
Claire Hill raised a recently released county training form and said Calvert's youth suicide metrics were high; the committee asked for clarification on whether the statistic cited was per‑capita and requested staff follow up. Committee members said they would publish a FAQ page of responses to the public questions and requested staff to collect and report relevant data, including Panorama, MSDE arrest reports and Office for Civil Rights data mentioned during the meeting.
Chair Jones and staff committed to follow up on counselor vacancies, report links to advertised positions, and provide committee members with relevant data sources ahead of the December working session.
