School safety and security may come hand-in-hand with school finance reform. Lawmakers in the 86th Texas legislative session have zeroed in on changes to public education funding. Fixing the funding could help school districts at multiple levels­—including freeing up resources to make campuses safer for students and staff. High on the list are counselors, who have shown they can make a difference in students’ lives. They can identify troubled students before they become a threat and help students in crisis cope with their emotions. And while there is hope for more funding, schools are already making changes to help counselors meet their mission. Jan Friese, executive director for the Texas Counseling Association, pointed to the 2018 school shootings in Santa Fe, Texas and Parkland, Florida. She said they were “horrible” and “violent,” but they have resulted in state leadership acknowledging the troubles students can face. “Often tragedies create opportunity,” Friese said. “Hopefully this bad will result in a great deal of good.” This school year, for example, Carroll ISD hired three new counselors. This decreased the student to counselor ratio at Carroll High School by almost 70 students, from 341.5 students per counselor to 268.2. The district is looking to hire an additional counselor as well. “We’ve been very blessed and fortunate to be able to find them, especially in the middle of a school year,” CISD acting Superintendent Janet McDade said. Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Superintendent Robin Ryan said he is glad to see a renewed recognition of counselors. “Our counseling staff does a tremendous job,” Ryan said. “They do heroic things ... but you never have enough because the needs are so great.”

CISD taking action

CISD trustees invested more than $300,000 of district funds this school year for the new counselor positions. “One of the first lines of defense for students is having that trusting relationship built with a counselor,” Matt Miller, assistant superintendent for administrative services, said at a September meeting. “[CISD also] recognizes that more and more of the counselor’s time to intervene has been decreased with so many of the other added duties over the years.” In May last year, the city of Southlake entered into a partnership with CISD. The city gave the district $550,000. This was to be used in addition to money already earmarked from the last bond election for safety projects. Trustee David Almand said this partnership was crucial for the district. “Our city came in and helped us with these [safety initiatives] and gave us the ability to focus on things like counselors,” Almand said. CISD also has a Resiliency Project to aid students in adapting to adversity and significant stress. McDade said CISD will soon start a program called Social Sentinel to monitor social media and help identify potential threats. “That works in conjunction with our counselors, our [school resource officers] and our assistant principals at the campuses,” she said. Tammy Pulse is CISD’s new counselor coordinator this school year. Part of her job involves watching this legislative session. “There is so much [lawmakers] can do to help the whole education system,” she said. “There are some districts where the need is bigger. … [CISD is] on the proactive end of things, and that’s when you know you are in good shape. But I feel like there is always more that could be done.”

Counseling challenges

The way counselors should use their time is detailed in the Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs. Duties include talking about classroom behavior, holding small-group meetings, planning for academics and using outside resources. Valuing a school counselor’s time is key, said Friese. She called it “the most important” part of effective school counseling. But some districts use school counselors as a catch-all for state requirements, Friese said. It happens because higher-ups are not familiar with the plan for school counseling programs, she said. The problem comes when counselors have added responsibilities that take them away from the students. “One of our important missions is to try to get principals and superintendents some training and to expand their understanding [of the Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs],” Friese said.

‘Cautiously optimistic’

Lawmakers are also in a position this legislative session to help. Friese said one bill would require principals and counselors to be more aware of the Comprehensive School Counseling model. Another would require school counselors to spend at least 80 percent of their time counseling. Yet another proposes mental health education for all grades. In addition, some lawmakers are seeking to bring more balance to school district funding. Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, said his focus remains on education reform and helping districts with financing issues. He said he is in support of reducing recapture payments to the state and using some of the state’s savings in the rainy-day fund. He said if the funding is fixed, other education concerns, such as safety and security, would benefit. Ryan agreed school finance is key. “Make no mistake about it—money matters,” Ryan said. “Money for schools, teachers, money for safety and security­—none of that is free.” Friese said if the funding directed back to the schools has a portion earmarked for counselors, it would be a step in the right direction. “We’re cautiously optimistic that we may be able to work with leadership over in the House to identify some of those funds to provide additional support for school counselors,” she said.

GCISD measures

GCISD is not hiring new counselors, but officials said the district is looking into how it can best use counselors’ time to better serve students as well as adding new counseling programs. One program involves targeting students whose peers turn to them for advice, high school counselor Chansi Shope said. These selected students form what is called a Hope Squad and learn how to respond when other students come to them with issues. They are also taught to find a trusted adult. “Kids are counseling kids whether we like it or not,” she said. “If we can provide the right resources and the right plan for when students come to them, then they’re much better prepared.”