Federal funding allocated in part to wellness centers in public schools is running out, so in the coming months, school districts will have to try to keep these places open with other types of help.
Juan Cruz, superintendent of the Franklin McKinley School District in San José, showed Telemundo 48 the space designated to address the emotional support and mental health needs of students at George Shirakawa Sr. Elementary School.
“If children do not feel well, they will not come to school, they will not be able to focus on their subjects,” Cruz said.
The detail is that the American Rescue Plan funds that helped partially finance these centers will no longer be available after September.
“The federal funds that he gave us now that we come back from the pandemic are already running out, but we also have other state funds,” Cruz said.
The district has social workers and 15 wellness centers in which they invest $250,000 if the place operates at full capacity.
“This next year we still have that money that we have designated for those services. We have two years, unless finances in the state go down,” Cruz explained.
For its part, the Eastside San José Unified School District assured that they have had these centers for 10 years.
But they have become priority places within their educational plan, which is why they are constantly seeking funds to finance the 13 facilities that the district has.
“Centers where students go to a safe, peaceful, calm place, where they can take a break from their classes or help with their mental well-being,” said Teresa Márquez, associate superintendent of the Eastside Union High School District.
Currently, they do not anticipate closures or reductions in services.
“We just received a budget from the county specifically from the Valley Health Foundation for almost $2 million to continue the work of our wellness and calm spaces for our students,” Márquez said.
In a statement, the spokesperson for the San José Unified School District indicated:
“The counselors and nurses are district staff and were not hired with grant funds. Precisely so as not to suffer the loss of programs in the event of a reduction in funds.”
They added that their wellness centers will not be impacted, something that reassures parents.
“It’s also good to know because if something happens to you, you come here and they help you too,” said Edith Solórzano, mother of the family.
