SUNDRE – Funding for mental health programs in schools should come not from municipalities but rather the provincial government, says Sundre’s mayor.
In addition to the municipality’s annual Grants to Organizations program that through an application review process supports numerous local groups every year, council also approves funding for seven organizations in the community. This year, the municipality received three requests for additional funding, including one from Chinook’s Edge School Division (CESD), reads background information in the regular May 30 meeting’s agenda package.
In a letter dated Nov. 9, 2022 and signed by Holly Bilton, chair of the school division’s board of trustees, council was informed the Family School Wellness program that began 35 years ago through a partnership with the objective of supporting students and families when learning was being impacted by factors outside of school, provides the service at both of the local schools.
The original pilot program, wrote Bilton, was equally funded by a three-way split among the provincial government through Family and Community Support Services, the school division, as well as a combined funding commitment from the Town of Sundre and Mountain View County.
The driving force behind the initiative was to focus on preventative care, which in the long-term is far more economical than the expenses involved in providing treatment, reads a portion of Bilton’s letter.
“The win for all partners was to spend $1 in prevention and support efforts, rather than $10 later in treatment,” she wrote.
More than three decades later, there are 25 Family School Wellness workers in 40 schools throughout CESD, with multiple funding partners involved in the region, she wrote.
“The Town of Sundre has not contributed to this program for seven years,” she went on to say, adding Olds, Didsbury, Cremona as well as Mountain View County continue to provide annual support.
When the provincial government cut back funding to FCSS a couple of years ago, the school division had increased its own funding to the tune of $1.8 million from $1.3 million; a $500,000 boost, she wrote.
Outlining a two-pronged request, Bilton’s letter states the board first sought $15,000 from the municipality for next year to help provide stable funding. The second follow-up request pertained specifically to increasing support for mental health and asked council to consider joining a partnership with CESD and other stakeholders.
“Referrals to outside agencies for support by Family School Wellness workers in Sundre schools have increased by 450 per cent from 2020-21 to 2021-22,” reads part of Bilton’s letter.
“The shocking reality is that of the 86 Family School Wellness referrals to outside agencies last year, only 26 were actually able to obtain needed support, while 60 referrals were ‘bounced back’ to Sundre Family School Wellness workers because those agencies were over capacity.
“The problem is that there are not enough treatment practitioners to deal with those referrals – especially in rural Alberta,” she wrote, adding the board sought a commitment of $30,000 to $50,000 for each of the next two years.
Coun. Jaime Marr’s motion to approve $15,000 for the school division in 2023 was ultimately defeated.
“The school was declined because of what was announced just before the election with extra funding, and to see what the process will be under the re-elected government,” said mayor Richard Warnock during a follow-up interview. “Because it’s really not a municipality’s role to fund health care in schools.”
However, that’s not to say council does not recognize the program’s crucial importance.
“We know the need for mental health help in our schools; it’s just felt that we’re not the right entity that should be funding it,” he said.
“We understand that more funding was promised for mental health in the education system,” he said. “So, hopefully that comes through.”
Asked his thoughts on the UCP government’s past cuts to FCSS programming, which shifted the burden onto the shoulders of municipalities and school boards, only to promise funding boosts with an election around the corner, Warnock said the government seemed to have changed its tune at about the time Premier Danielle Smith originally won the party’s leadership race.
With the provincial government’s new cabinet soon to be announced, the mayor said council will closely monitor whether the campaign pledge materializes.
“We’ll have to wait and see who gets in,” he said. “Because we want to lobby for additional FCSS funding as well to support GNP (Greenwood Neighbourhood Place), but we need to know who to start with.”
The mayor said he did not support the motion to approve any funding for the school division’s request, at least for now until the dust settles as the re-elected UCP gets to work.
“That’s just prudent, that’s just doing the right thing,” he said. “As soon as the municipality pays, the provincial government stops. So, we want our provincial government to step up and help the school divisions with mental health. I feel that’s their responsibility.”
