Why I Oppose Non-Academic / Medical Counselors at Middle Schools

By W Charles "Charles" Perry

I oppose the hiring of non-academic / medical counselrs at middle schools because we have sufficient academic counselors, we have no state mandate or funding for non-academic / medical couselors, and I do not want the schools providing medical psychiatric or psychological care without direct parental involvement and consent, without properly licensed professionals on staff, and without common consent on what defines good mental health.

Second, regardless of the perceived need of such services or how popular such services are or might be with parents, students, and teachers, the district does not have the resources provide medical-related psychiatric or psychological counseling for troubled teens. Psychiatric and psychological care is a medical issue + not an academic issue + and is not funded by the state. Once started, such a service quickly becomes an entitlement and, hence, virtually impossible to stop. Medical costs are increasing at roughly 10% per year while funding increases at roughly 3% per year. Providing such services would come from an already under-funded general fund to the overall academic detriment of the roughly 10,000 students in the district. The district worked diligently for the last four years to stop encroachments into the general fund and ensure that every program functions within the constraints of its funding. When many schools went bankrupt or fell under state control, our district did not even though it is one of the lowest funded districts in the county and + in comparison to the cost of living + in the nation. We cannot succumb to the temptation to engage in profligate behavior even when it is "for the good of the children."

Third, psychiatric and psychological care of teens is the responsibility of their parents and the health care community. I do not want a state institution making medical decisions or defining what constitutes medical health in troubled teens. I especially do not want this done absent parental consent and direct involvement. Even more so, I do not want this done by unlicensed and untrained academic counselors and teachers.