Board approves adding posting for grant-funded family support director after SEL presentation

Mister Bennett, the district's director of student services, told the Iroquois board that a state grant opportunity would fund a community-facing family support center and related programs designed to keep students in school by connecting families to mental-health and wraparound services.

"Kids who are in crisis can't learn. Period," Bennett said while describing a proposed coordinator role intended to identify and route intensive cases to outside providers, reduce duplication among building-based staff, and bring the district into a coalition of family support centers across Western New York.

District data presented during the briefing showed free-and-reduced-lunch rates rising from roughly 5% to about 20% over 20 years and chronic absenteeism at roughly 15% (with an additional ~5% close to that threshold). Presenters said many of the most-absent students miss dozens of days per year, which they tied to trauma and unmet mental-health needs.

Grant-funded position and sustainability: Board members noted the grant includes a salary line of about $52,000 for a full-time Family Support Director for the 2024–25 school year. Administrators recommended posting the position as a clearly defined, grant-funded 2024–25 role that the board will review after the year. Several trustees stressed the need for clear success metrics and realistic expectations given the one-year grant horizon.

Board action: Following discussion of role, scope and hiring logistics, the board agreed to add an item to the agenda authorizing the superintendent to post the grant-funded Family Support Director position and to include a board member on the interview committee.

Why it matters: Presenters argued that a single community-facing coordinator could reduce redundant outreach by school-based staff, navigate provider networks, pursue grant opportunities and improve service access for rural families who face limited local provider capacity.

What's next: Administration will post the position as written in the grant, recruit candidates, and return to the board with implementation updates and data over the 2024–25 year for evaluation.