Two Sarasota County Schools administrators disputed recent reporting on the district’s contract with The Florida Center for Early Childhood Tuesday night, saying inaccurate information was provided. 

But the numbers they disputed came directly from the district.

Suncoast Searchlight reported on April 4 that Sarasota County Schools would end its contract with The Florida Center, which placed full-time mental health therapists in elementary schools. 

Superintendent Terry Connor did not name Searchlight during the meeting but said that there was “misinformation” about mental health services and the Florida Center contract. He then turned to Chief of Student Services Kirk Hutchinson to give a presentation on the background of the contract and the district’s plan for mental health services next year. 

Hutchinson said: “This current school year, we have served, the Florida Center has served, approximately 75% of their caseload, which equates to 274 students. There was some information that said that number was significantly more than that, but it is not.”

Searchlight’s article said that, as of January, the Florida Center was supporting 272 students, or 74% of the contracted capacity. Those numbers came from a district planning document obtained through a public records request and were confirmed in an email from district spokesperson Kelsey Whealy on April 3.

Hutchinson also told a Searchlight reporter during a break in the meeting that the number of students served last year was incorrectly reported. 

Searchlight’s story included information about the Florida Center having served more than 475 students last school year. That number, too, was confirmed by Whealy on April 3.

Whealy’s email came in response to a fact-checking request by Searchlight. She said the responses were from Hutchinson and Executive Director of Student Services Debra Giacolone.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the school board approved an interagency agreement with The Florida Center, which will allow the district to refer students to the agency for services. The district has 10 other interagency agreements with mental health providers, Hutchinson said. Whealy told Searchlight in a March 28 email that there were currently nine mental health interagency agreements.

In his presentation, Hutchinson also elaborated on the district’s plan to use the funding that previously paid for The Florida Center contract to retain seven social worker positions that would otherwise have been cut and to hire five new mental health providers.

Searchlight previously reported on that plan using public records after the district declined an interview request. The district also did not respond to several emailed questions about the plan.

Connor said during the meeting that the plan allows for more direct management of services. 

“This model is really going to provide us, we believe, better oversight, faster response time, better continuity of services for our students, and it also will ensure that the mental health providers are fully integrated with the schools, and not that we just refer out,” he said.

Connor said that the district has a waiting list of applicants for the new positions. He also said the interagency partners have committed to absorbing all students who previously received therapy on-campus through The Florida Center. 

During the public comment period, several district residents said they appreciated the additional information but remained concerned about the intended changes.

“I understand and respect the district’s intent to reach more students and to do so in a more cost-effective way, but what’s being proposed here is a high-stakes gamble with one of the most critical support systems we have, and it’s a gamble without a proven safety net,” said Julie Forestier, a parent of children in the district.

Board member Tom Edwards called the public’s concerns about the transition valid, but he reiterated his previous comments to Searchlight that the state does not budget enough for school mental health services. 

“So how do you solve the problem?” he said during the meeting. “At this particular point of time, the best solution that I have is to allow the program to go through. Yes, it’s risky. Yes, we don’t know, but we have to have faith in the team that we’ve hired, which I do.”

Board member Bridget Ziegler echoed that faith and said she appreciated that the district leadership is not afraid of change. She also said she believed the district would respond if the administrators saw that expectations for mental health support were not being met.

Board member Robyn Marinelli, a former school counselor, said the expectations for student support services have grown substantially since the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018.

“We have to use as many community resources and our school resources with the monies that we have,” she said. “And that’s why, in December, I would like to have an update of how things are working, because I’m a firm believer, if they’re working great, how do we enhance it? If it’s not working, what do we need to do to make it work?”

Board member Liz Barker said her previous concerns about the new plan – which were reported by Searchlight – were alleviated by the superintendent’s updates that partner agencies have enough capacity for students and that there are plenty of applicants for the new roles.