Board approves grant-funded K–2 student-assistant contract amid questions about coverage

The Oley Valley School District board on April 7 reviewed a one-year contract with Karen Foundation to provide a full-time K–2 student-assistant program for the 2026–27 school year at a total cost cited in the presentation of $67,898 per year for a 37.5-hour work week. Administrators said the contract is paid for with grant funds and not from local tax revenue.

Board members expressed concern about a single staff member covering three buildings. Administrators and the curriculum chair said principals supported the staffing model and that the contracted Student Assistance Program (SAP) role is primarily triage and referral rather than long-term therapy. "We serve over 200 cases a year or more; one year was 300," an administrator said when describing service volume and asserted the contract provides access to services many students could not otherwise obtain.

The administration noted that the SAP provider helps connect students and families to community services, conducts small-group interventions and triages cases for school counselors and other providers. The district emphasized the contract’s grant-funding source and said hiring the service through grant dollars makes it substantially less costly than hiring an equivalent in-house position.

Board members asked for supporting data and the presenters said they have six years of historical referral data and would share it with the board. No material vote tally was recorded in the transcript excerpt provided; the motion appeared on the agenda as "motion four" under curriculum.