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The Barnwell County School Board held their Oct. 24 meeting at the Hagood Avenue administrative building in Barnwell.
Methods of providing mental health services to students and staff was a focus at the Barnwell County School Board’s (BCSD) October 24 meeting.
Superintendent Dr. Crissie Stapleton thanked the board members for their time and dedication in the nearly six-hour work session prior to the meeting. Many topics were discussed during the work session such as the salary schedule study and a data dive into SAT, ACT, and graduation rates.
Phase one of the salary study was approved at the meeting to equalize salaries for bus drivers, custodians, nurses, and other staff across the district. This study was also compared to other districts and schools in the area.
This will go into effect July 1, 2024.
The People-Sentinel will look at the ranges of salaries for district employees in an upcoming article once phase two has been discussed at the board’s November 28 meeting.
Dr. Stapleton provided the board with an overview of mental health services and the district’s partnership with Aiken-Barnwell Mental Health Center (ABMHC).
ABMHC is one of the 16 S.C. Dept. of Mental Health (SCDMH) community centers providing mental services to adults, children, and families in Aiken and Barnwell counties.
The center provides onsite services to BCSD students and staff. Clinicians are in schools working to build relationships through district-wide collaboration with guidance counselors, teachers, and administration.
Students receiving services from ABMHC also have access to services such as the multidimensional family therapy program and care coordination. In this coordination comes collaboration with the Dept. of Juvenile Justice and the Dept. of Social Services to provide adequate care.
Currently, ABMHC and SCDMH are facilitating a Pediatric Access Grant in Barnwell County to enhance access to care and provide consultation to primary care providers. The district’s mental health counselors can consult with student’s primary care providers if needed.
These counselors also assist in times of crisis or loss. They are trained in multiple evidence-based practices and have the ability to provide training for staff.
Lacinda McCormack from the Barnwell branch of ABMHC, the Polly Best Center, has provided numerous training opportunities for school staff on mental wellness, mental health, and suicide prevention.
Four staff members are providing services to students in the current fiscal year: Mallory Metts, McCormack, Safuwra Hart, and Bailey Brown who was recently hired in August.
Safuwra Hart is the school mental health liaison and serves as the central point of contact for all referrals. Hart receives a referral and then contacts parents to coordinate the needed steps forward. She also provides psychosocial rehabilitation services to students targeting coping, communication, social, problem solving, and decision-making skills.
Eleven students are currently being served in Macedonia Elementary-Middle School (MEMS), Barnwell Primary School (BPS), and Guinyard-Butler Middle School (GBMS), and Barnwell High School (BHS).
From July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, 77 total students were served. 621 total contacts were provided to students in all of Barnwell County with 104 total referrals.
From July 1, 2023 to the meeting date, there were 54 active patients at schools. However, ABMHC predicts 153 students could use mental health services based on research and data analysis.
The current staff is not at caseload capacity, but there were still positions needing to be filled to serve more students. Interviews are being conducted for remaining vacancies, however in the meantime McCormack is filling in these capacities.
Some challenges and barriers in the mental health realm include parents not following up with scheduled appointments despite multiple attempts to provide service and breaking the stigma.
Updates on the facility study, the September financial report, the strategic planning process, and the consolidation plan were also given at the meeting.
The facility study report provided an overview of schools across the district. The board received a full report which highlighted areas in need of improvement and those which are sufficient.
In the September financial report, technology, board travel, and compensation have only been spent from the previously approved $3.125 million budget.
According to Dr. Stapleton, the first 25 percent of the budget will be allocated from the state for use in November.
The strategic planning process is still bringing together small groups across the district to look at the totality of needs. Recently, special education teachers in Barnwell, Williston, and Blackville met with administrators to look at their duties. From here, a task force will be put together to equalize curriculum.
Regarding the consolidation plan, the district has entered into a contract to begin integrating the accounting software used by Barnwell School District 45 (BSD45) and Barnwell County Consolidated School District (BCCSD).
The next BCSD board meeting will be held at the Barnwell County Career Center on November 28 at 6 p.m.
