Preserving Counselors for our Middle School Students

When I ran for the Berryessa School Board 4 years ago, I decried the inadequate level of counseling services available to students in our public schools. Elementary school students deserve to have trained counselors on staff to help them work through personal and academic problems, guide their academic progress, and plan their futures. Unfortunately, it is rare these days for elementary schools to offer this service. Middle schools and high schools have counselors, but at a level far below what is necessary to provide for the needs of all the students.

When I joined the board, I pledged to do all I could to preserve our counselors through tough budgetary times. Each year I have been on the board, our district has had to make cuts. Every year, counselors have been on the list of proposed cuts and our counselors have received pink slips. Fortunately, I have succeeded in retaining counseling services at their current level on each of the 3 budgets for which I have voted.

This year will be tougher. The magnitude of the cuts we face is larger than in any of the other years. As a result, counselors are once again in danger. I am determined to preserve as much counseling as possible. While some suggest that we ought to reduce our middle school counseling to one person per school, I will not support a budget at that level.

For a discussion of what counselors do and how California stacks up compared to the nation as far as counseling services in schools, see my post on the Board President's Blog.