DULUTH — Several months into the school district’s budget reduction and realignment process, in an effort to close a $4 million funding gap, district employees are raising concerns about cuts to mental health personnel and services.
Since discussions about this year’s budget reductions began in
district administrators have repeatedly highlighted efforts to preserve mental health supports and services for students, despite several staffing cuts in that area. But during a Tuesday listening session, several school counselors and social workers expressed doubts over the district’s ability to avoid a significant impact on mental health services in light of the proposed layoffs.
“School social workers and counselors are often the first adults to recognize when a student is struggling,” said Breanna Greenly, a special education school social worker in the district. “When preventative supports disappear, students’ needs do not disappear with them. What happens instead is we see more behavioral crises, more absenteeism, more academic struggles, and more students reaching the breaking point before they receive help.”
the school district released a detailed list of planned reductions in services and positions, totaling more than $4.2 million in potential general fund savings. While cuts included eliminating early release at the high schools and scaling back some of the district’s course electives, East High School and Denfeld High School are both expected to lose a school counselor, and some elementary schools will see reductions in available social work services.
With cuts also affecting additional positions, such as a mental health professional from Denfeld’s behavioral support team, at least nine schools in the district are expected to see reductions in direct mental health support.
“We are at an unfortunate financial crossroads where some of the situations where we’ve tried to not make reductions and hold certain positions safe, that we are beginning to have to have an impact on those positions,” said district Superintendent John Magas. “I’m very concerned that next year … that those impacts will be even greater in these areas.”
Some of the positions affected by reductions will be partially maintained, but under funding streams outside the general fund. At Congdon Park Elementary School, a full-time social work position will be reduced by half, with the remaining 0.5 position supported by the district’s special education fund.
However, the change in funding source will mean the elimination of social work services for students who do not qualify for special education services.
“I’m just asking the administrative team to have realistic conversations about where that workload goes, and to be open and honest and transparent with the people that are going to have to pick that workload up,” said board chair Kelly Durick Eder. “These elementary school kids are still going to need general education social workers, especially if we don’t want to see problems continue to manifest.”
Emma McNamee joined the Duluth News Tribune in February 2025 as a reporter covering K-12 schools and higher education in the Duluth area.