A statement posted on the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Web site Friday morning says the board  is supporting the $5.7 million mental health grant from the federal government.  “We want to voice our strong support for acceptance of this five-year grant,” according to the statement.

At Wednesday night’s school board meeting, after a long discussion and much public comment, board member Tiffany Pascoe offered a motion to reject the grant, a point of order was asserted about whether a vote could be taken on an information agenda item, and the board did not take a second to the motion or a vote on the issue.

Here is the full statement issued on behalf of the HSE Board:

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On behalf of the HSE Board of School Trustees, I want first to express my gratitude to members of our school community who took the time in recent days to give feedback and information about the mental health grant that our school administration secured on behalf of district students.

We all agree that supporting the mental health needs of our 21,000 students is critical to providing an exceptional educational experience that prepares them for future success. We all are proud of the work already produced by the City of Fishers and key community partners through the Stigma Free Fishers mental health initiative.

To that end, we want to voice our strong support for acceptance of this five-year grant. We look forward to working with Brooke Lawson and her mental health and school counseling team members to successfully implement the program. Moreover, our board wellness committee will support Dr. Stokes and her administration by ensuring alignment on any issues that arise and identifying potential gaps to be addressed throughout the life of the grant.

Budget oversight is a key responsibility of the board. Our fiduciary responsibility to the HSE Schools community is to ensure that financial commitments made now in acceptance of this grant are affordable five years from now. After meeting with the administration following Wednesday’s board meeting, we accept their commitment in working with the board to ensure that HSE’s budget is sound, and will adjust when necessary at the conclusion of this grant.

Wednesday night’s public work session and board meeting gave all board members an opportunity to seek greater understanding by asking questions about the proposed grant program. It also allowed us to provide open engagement and transparency, which is our goal with any topic that comes before the board. We were thoroughly impressed by the professionalism of HSE administrative staff during their presentation and public comments from interested parties.

This is a dynamic time for HSE Schools. Our partnership with the City of Fishers is strengthened by the opportunities we seek to provide our students. In fact, we look forward to announcing another project in the coming weeks that we believe will give our students a life-changing, new path to pursue their own success.

Thank you again for your support of HSE Schools!