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Parents press board over Hoots on‑site counseling partnership; district says staff will gatekeep referrals
Summary
At the October board meeting parents expressed safety and ideological concerns about a one‑year Hoots/CAHoots grant that places an EMT/medic and a crisis counselor on campus one day a week. District staff said counseling is high‑school only and the school counselor will gatekeep referrals and parental permission.
At a regular board meeting, parents and board members spent an extended period pressing the district for more information about a one‑year ESD grant partnership with Hoots (a branch of CAHoots) that places crisis support staff on the high‑school campus one day each week.
“Heidi said Hoots sends two people once a week, and they send the same people,” said Heidi, the district’s federal programs director, describing the district’s plan to assign Rooney and Margo for continuity. Heidi told the board that the program was intended to remove insurance barriers by providing services at no cost and that the district had negotiated a process in which the school counselor would act as the gatekeeper for referrals so families would be informed before students met with the Hoots counselors.
Parents at the meeting raised alarm about material they found on the provider’s website and social pages. One parent told the board, “I wouldn’t trust the word that came out of their mouth,” citing staff biographies and a linked private Facebook group described on the site as a ‘LGBTQ safe homes and rideshares’ page. Those parents urged that initial contacts be parent‑initiated and asked the district to require documentary proof of staff qualifications.
A board member with emergency‑response experience questioned vendor terminology and credentials, saying, “Medic means absolutely nothing,” and pressed the district to require specific certifications (basic/intermediate/paramedic or licensed mental‑health credentials) for the individuals on campus. Board members discussed alternatives including assembling a vetted resource list for families, restricting on‑campus access to parent‑requested visits, and holding a town‑hall with the providers to let community members ask questions directly.
The board did not take a formal vote on the partnership during the meeting. District staff said the grant is for one year and that they would seek documentation of credentials and pursue additional community outreach before making further decisions. Next procedural steps discussed were collecting provider certifications, confirming parental‑consent procedures, and scheduling a community meeting if interest remains.
