More Broward schools referendum dollars would go to mental health
South Florida Sun SentinelApr 19, 2022
Mental health will get a bit more attention in the upcoming school tax referendum, the
The
The allocation would be 75% for teacher and employee bonuses, 17% for safety and security officers and 8% for mental health.
That’s slightly different than what district staff proposed.
Although the total allocation in each category would go up, the percentage allocated to mental health would have gone down slightly, under a proposal from district staff.
The allocation for employee pay would change from 72% to 75%, the share for safety and security officers would have dropped from 20% to 18% and the mental health share would have dropped from 8% to 7%, under the proposal.
But that smaller share for mental health was unacceptable for
“We all know the need is enormous” for mental health services, Levinson said.
Deputy Superintendent
But Levinson and some other board members said an increase in violence and isolation caused by the pandemic has greatly expanded the need for mental health services.
“We may not be able to hire all the people internally we would like, but there are many partnerships available with organizations that can help us that we are not leveraging,” Levinson said.
Under the approved proposal, the allocation for employee salaries would increase from
The safety and security budget would increase from
The district hasn’t provided a specific plan on how much extra pay teachers and other employees would receive nor what specifically the extra safety and mental health money would be used for.
The
District officials also say Broward’s current tax of
Voters will get to decide on
“The public needs to understand this is not just a wish list. It’s a necessity,”
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