Bozeman schools draft bill to cover expiring mental health grant
BOZEMAN, Mont. — A federal grant used to fund mental health resources worth millions in Bozeman schools is set to expire. Now district officials plan to ask lawmakers to pass a bill asking residents to take over the cost.
Bozeman Public Schools Superintendent Rob Watson said the mental health professionals who work in the district keep schools safe.
"That grant is going away," Watson said. "So we like to maintain those services for our kids, and we don't really have a way to fund that with the current funding structure."
School officials said it would cost $550,000 per year for taxpayers to cover the bill.
Residents like Georgina Tavarez supports the legislation. Her daughter attends a Bozeman public school.
"The school system here really thinks of the child," Tavarez said. "There's need to be more funding."
The bill is still being drafted but is planned to be ready for the session starting in January 2019.
