(Western Mass News – Kristen Burnell) We turn to a follow up on a story we first brought to you last night, a $56 billion 2024 fiscal year budget passed at the state house.
State lawmakers called this budget a ‘record’ amount of funding with several new programs including more mental health funding for students. But one thing not included in the state budget, funding for the anticipated East-West Rail.
“It’s no secret that mental health has been really exacerbated because of the pandemic,” said Latonia Monroe Naylor, vice chair of the Springfield School Committee. “At this stage of the game, we have a lot of folks that are saying hey I recognize that I have some things that I need to work through, and we really need to do a better job of ensuring that we are supporting folks who are looking for resources.”
A multi-billion-dollar state budget has been approved at the state house this week with millions of dollars allocated for mental health resources for schools in Massachusetts.
“$120 million for kids’ mental health concerns that are out there right now,” noted Senator John Velis. “I can tell you as the current chairman of mental health substance use and recovery, the mental health of kids right now of everyone but really kids right now, there is a lot there.”
Western Mass News spoke with the vice chair of the Springfield School Committee Latonia Monroe Naylor. She told us why this type of funding is critical now more than ever, especially after Springfield schools have allocated $30 million for mental health resources into their 2023-2024 budget.
“I’m excited about the fact that we have folks in the leadership in our commonwealth who are really excited about how we really create change when it comes to mental health,” expressed Naylor. “So, they show that by making sure the budget also reflects that not just the schools just be responsible for identifying money in their budget, but also that the state is saying we’re going to support this as well. Now with this new funding, we are also going to see an increase in being able to add additional folks, counselors, because that money is specifically for adding support staff and other resources.”
Meanwhile, funding not approved in this budget includes Governor Maura Healey’s proposal for $12.5 million to fund the East-West Rail. The high-speed train project aims to connect eastern and western Massachusetts, State Senator Jo Comerford told us in statement in part:
“MassDOT continues to seek grants for the necessary line work, and we’ll keep pushing forward.”
The budget has not yet been approved by Governor Maura Healey, she has 10 days to review it and take action to either sign it into law or veto it.