Hitting Home - Murrysville, PA

I have watched with great sadness over the past several years as violence in schools has become a national epidemic.  As a District Trustee, there's only one thing that matters to me more than making sure each child gets a great education- that is making sure they get home safely each night.

After Columbine, a friend of mine who was moving to Colorado intentionally chose to buy a house in Littleton.  "The chances of this happening twice in the same area are essentially zero," he told me.  Sadly, last year it did strike again at Arapahoe High School and his own children were in the high school.  We were all so grateful to know that his children were unharmed, but the same can't be said of every child who went to school that morning.

Still, that was in Colorado.  Sandy Hook, in Newton, CT,  was also "somewhere else", and it seemed to me that this "epidemic" was a serious problem, but it was affecting others.

Until yesterday.

I graduated from Franklin Regional High School on June 6, 1985.  I remember the date because I had the support of close friends through what were the toughest times my 17-year-old mind could imagine.  But I never faced anything like what my fellow Panthers faced yesterday when one of their classmates went on a spree and stabbed more than 20 people.  From this day forward, those kids will never have a "normal" high school experience.  There will be "before" and "after".  It will alter their lives permanently.

My kids are already asking about what happened.  I wish I had answers, but I don't.  How do you make kids feel safe in their hometown when something like this happens in my hometown?  But somehow I'm going to have to find the words...

The Los Altos School District already has drills and safety measures in place to deal with a crisis like this, but we have to do more.  Knowing how to manage a lock-down is nowhere near as important as making sure we don't need one in the first place.  We provide funding for CHAC, which is a great resource if a child is struggling.  Project Cornerstone talks about sticking up for other students, but it also emphasizes helping your fellow students.  We all need to make sure that any child who struggles gets the help they need.

As parents, we do not have the luxury of thinking this will only occur "somewhere else".  Murrysville, PA, Newton, CT, and Littleton, CO do not fit the stereotypes of places we associate with violence.  They aren't gang-ridden, overrun by drug dealers.  I can tell you- these are places just like Los Altos, Mountain View, and our wider community.

A Bargain At Twice The Price

One of the things I'm cognizant of it getting good value for where we spend our precious resources.  So it might surprise folks to learn that I advocated for a 50% increase in an expenditure this past week.

Like many public schools districts, LASD contracts for mental health services through an outside agency.  In our case, the Community Health Awareness Council (or CACH) provides these services to LASD, as well as to other neighboring districts. 

What do these services look like?  CHAC professionals work with district students on a wide range of issues, ranging from depression and suicide to anti-social outbursts and bullying to divorce and family challenges.  Sometimes the family seeks help and LASD refers them to CHAC, and in other cases District personnel identify an issue and confer with the family to recommend that a discussion be opened.  I'm painting a broad picture, because the services really are tailored to the needs of the people involved.

I'm overwhelmed by the stories of people who have received these services.  By definition, the services are rendered at a critical time of need.  A child is in crisis, and CHAC is there to help. For some folks, it is a first contact point to begin to understand an issue their child is wrestling with.  Others may engage with CHAC directly to work through a problem over a period of time. The feedback we get is remarkably consistent- families are extremely grateful that the service was there when they needed it most.


Last year, LASD students received about 4500 hours of services, which works out to about 1 hour per student per year.  We make a small contribution to CHAC to help offset the costs of the services, but the amount we give is very small by comparison to what we get.  Last year, we donated  $31,476 to CHAC.  That means our kids received assistance from top-flight professionals for about $7/hour.  You read that right- $7 per hour.  And the preceding 10 years of contributions have been pretty bleak.

Surrounding districts have been contributing at a rate of about $10-$14 per hour of service received.  As a community, we benefit so much from these services, it doesn't feel right that we were so far off the scale.  Yes, times are tight.  Yes, we still ask the PTA to buy things like pencils and kleenex.  Over the past several years, the only increase in teacher compensation has been in their health care costs.  But this is a service we absolutely must have.  Our District is fortunate to have many more resources than many of those around us.  It just didn't feel right to continue to receive the services without at least stepping up the contribution to be in line with other districts.  I'm proud to say that we increased our contribution to $45,000 for this year.  The services CHAC provides are incredibly important to our kids, and I'm very grateful to the folks at CHAC.


I'd also like to thank LASD Board member Steve Taglio for calling this out.  I've been on the LASD Board for 3 years, and we've always know that we have received great service from CHAC and that it has been a "great bargain".  There's a difference between "a bargain" and " not paying our share".  Steve gathered the data to put it into context, which I think helped the Board make this decision.  Thanks, Steve.  And thanks to Monique Kane and the team at CHAC