Why Rochester Schools Lost $1.9 Million For Mental Health Programs

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The U.S. Department of Education has denied the Rochester Public School District’s (RPS) appeal of a decision to terminate a grant funding mental healthcare training.

Read More: Feds Terminate $1.9 Million Mental Healthcare Training Grant for Rochester Public Schools

In April of this year, the department informed RPS of its decision to terminate the $1.9 million grant funding licensing and preparation for staff to provide mental health services for RPS students.

RPS Superintendent Kent Pekel called the decision to terminate a “big step backward,” in a letter informing the RPS community of the grant’s termination.

Pekel said the program funded by the federal grant aimed to increase the number of mental health professionals who are underrepresented when compared to the demographics of the RPS student body.

Pekel. Rochester Public Schools photo

The program included “an appropriate and common-sense emphasis on helping people of color and Indigenous people earn the degrees they need to provide mental health services in our schools,” Pekel wrote in the May letter.

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U.S. Department of Education: RPS Grant-Funded Program “Violates the Letter or Purpose of Federal civil rights Law”

In a letter informing RPS of its appeal being denied, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Programs at U.S. Department of Education Lindsey M. Burke wrote “your grant provides funding for programs that reflect the prior Administration’s priorities and policy preferences and conflicts with those of the current Administration.”

Burke also said the program “violates the letter or purpose of Federal civil rights law; conflicts with the Department’s policy of prioritizing merit, fairness, and excellence in education; undermines the well-being of the students these programs are intended to help; or constitutes an inappropriate use of federal funds.”

Pekel says the program did not exclude people from other backgrounds and life experience from participating. Participants in the program are enrolled in Winona State’s Social Work program and their tuition is covered by the grant.

The federal dollars also cover pay for substitutes covering for staff who are going through their internships and mentoring and supervision.