Lakeland school trustees to discuss Heritage Health contract

Heritage Health is on the agenda for discussion when Lakeland Joint School District trustees gather for a special meeting today at 6 p.m.

School board members voted April 10 to not renew a contract between the school district and Heritage Health, a local, nonprofit provider of integrated medical, dental and behavioral health services.

The contract, in place since 2019, allowed Heritage Health therapists to use school district facilities to provide mental health services to students.

“Under the district's previous administration, Heritage Health came into the Lakeland Joint School District without the knowledge of or approval from the board,” said Board Chair Michelle Thompson, in a recent email. “And academics seemed to no longer be the top priority. The district is making a concerted effort to return to its roots and bring its focus back on academic education. All programs and clubs need to align with the district's standards, Idaho's statutes, promote academics and, most importantly, protect parental rights.”

Heritage Health has seen about 300 students on Lakeland campuses since the contract was first implemented, said Marc Stewart, content strategist for Heritage Health.

The counseling service agreement is between parents and Heritage Health, and is not coordinated through the district. The purpose of the arrangement was to minimize the amount of school students had to miss when receiving the services and to ease the travel burden for parents.

When the contract was not approved after very little discussion, some parents and community members were upset and voiced their concerns to the board in emails.

“This is a travesty to the district and needs to be revisited and approved,” said Craig Wirtz, a parent in the district and neighbor to a victim of suicide. “This decision impacts all students and staff. The district did a lot in the past to implement suicide prevention and this board is effectively removing all of it.”

The response from parents at seeing the discussion on the agenda for the upcoming meeting has been positive and in favor of renewing the contract.

“Thank you for taking the time to hear and consider the community’s input on this matter,” said Claire Byrd in a public comment. “I feel that every effort should be made to continue the counseling contract with Heritage Health.”

To provide public comment at the meeting, people must submit a “request to address the board” form. Forms can be emailed to the clerk of the board, Clerk@lakeland272.org, Rosanna Santiago.

To view the "request to address the board form" go to cdapress.com.