It will cost $145,000 to hire the 3 behavioral clinicians, Gazda said.
LUDLOW — School Superintendent Todd Gazda is proposing to hire three behavioral health clinicians for the next school year.
Todd Gazda “This will help us keep more of our students in district,” Gazda said. “It will help keep our students part of the community.”
Having behavioral health clinicians who are licensed social workers will help the school district to identify at-risk students, Gazda said. Addressing mental health issues is “the most effective way to keep schools safe,” he said.
The clinicians will work with students to help them “manage their emotions” and “control negative impulses,” Gazda told the School Committee.
While gun control is mentioned as a way to keep schools safer, more attention needs to be paid to mental health issues, Gazda said.
The school superintendent said it will cost $145,000 to hire three behavioral health clinicians who will be used at the elementary, middle school and high school levels. By hiring these three employees, the school district will be able to bring back three students who attend school out of district, he said. That will result in an immediate savings of $115,000 per year, he said.
It will lower the number of Ludlow students who attend school out of district from 21 to 18, Gazda said. “Keeping more students in district will help us save money down the road,” he said.
The clinicians also will work with teachers to help them develop strong behavioral plans, he said.
The three new positions are part of Gazda’s proposed fiscal 2014 school budget of $26,542,224. The budget is $834,000, or 3.2 percent, over this year’s school budget.
The School Committee will vote on whether to approve the budget at its meeting on Tuesday. Final approval of the budget will require approval of voters at the May 13 annual Town Meeting.