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Hanover County officials scramble after School Board cuts school-based clinician funding
Summary
After the Hanover School Board proposed eliminating school-based clinician positions, the Board of Supervisors'finance committee found funding to preserve three floating positions and one one-year grant-funded role; the Community Services Board discussed staffing impacts, contingency plans and next steps to maintain student access.
Hanover County's Community Services Board spent its March 2 work session focused on how to maintain school-based mental health services after the Hanover School Board proposed eliminating funding for those positions. Bret Schardein, program lead, described changes in school budgets and enrollment that prompted the School Board's proposed cuts, and Chair Mary Butler Eggleston framed the discussion as an opportunity to clarify the clinicians'roles and protect student access.
Sue Dibble, representing the Board of Supervisors Finance Committee, said the county found funding for three floating positions plus one additional position supported by a one-year grant, a contrast with the School Board's initial proposal of zero school-based clinicians. "The School Board's proposal was zero School Base Clinicians, but the Board of Supervisors Finance Committee has found funding for three plus one," Dibble said. Ryan Hudson, a supervisor, reiterated that "not all Board of Supervisors, nor all School Board Members support eliminating School Base Services and that he will continue to keep pushing for more," and stressed that the ten positions the School Board eliminated would be removed through attrition so "no one was losing their job."
Board members raised concerns about service continuity and access. Eggleston said school-based services reduce barriers for students who might not otherwise engage and described the funding cutoff as a failure the Board must prevent repeating. Staff said the CSB will "build the best program around the positions we have," and discussed how county-funded floating positions would be deployed to cover needs in schools while CSB explores longer-term solutions.
The Board did not vote on any formal motion during the work session. Next steps discussed included additional coordination with the School Board, requests for service data, and further internal planning to prioritize clinicians and placements.
