Peoria school district reverses course, votes to provide mental health support funding to students

PHOENIX — A Peoria school district voted Thursday to provide mental health support funding to students, a flip from earlier in the month when the board declined federal grant funding.

The Peoria Unified School District voted 4-0 to fund the mental health program. Since the board had previously voted against the federal funding, the district will have to pay the remaining $275,000 for the program itself.

Board President Becky Proudfit, one of two members to vote against the funding, apologized for her Sept. 12 vote at Thursday’s meeting. The funding from a 2019 grant would have run out at the end of the month without the vote.

“Because I was not having these conversations out in the open, it did create some chaos in the district and I want to take accountability for that,” Proudfit said.

Who else voted against Peoria mental health support funding?

The other board member to vote against the funding, Heather Rooks, said she had received threats since voting against the funding.

Rooks changed her vote but affirmed her stance against wanting social workers on school campuses. The grant will employ three social work field instructors to oversee 14 social work interns until June 2025.

“We are messing with a child’s mental state,” Rooks said. “That is not fixable.”

Peoria was one of 27 districts nationally to receive funding through the 2019 program.

Follow @DannyShapiro13