The Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School Board accepted two grants Monday night — one for school-based mental health services, the other for a farm-to-school program.
The board accepted both grants after short hearings at the start of its regular meeting. Each hearing took no more than a few minutes before the funds were unanimously accepted by the board.
The first grant was for a total of $275,000 for the first phase of a multi-year federal grant from Safe and Supportive Schools.
Superintendent Reuben Duncan said the grant is a competitive federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education that provides funding for school-based mental health services. He said the distribution of the first round of funds was severely delayed and would have normally been accepted by the board in December. As a result, Duncan said the second round of grant funding is expected to come before the board in July, with an additional $285,000.
The funds will be used to “extend and embed multi-tiered systems of support” for behavior and wellness. Duncan said that would include structures within the school, community education, funding a position to oversee the work, and partnerships with community organizations to provide consultation to the district to create policies and best practices.
Duncan said the district has been in contact with Antioch University, which has previously partnered with the district on other projects, to be that consultant.
Some of the funding will also be available to directly assist the student population, and can be used to help fund services for students who are uninsured or underinsured, Duncan said.
The board unanimously accepted the grant as unexpected funds.
The board also accepted, in a separate vote, $27,000 from the New Hampshire Farm to School Local Incentive pilot program. Administered by the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food, the two-year program, started this year, reimburses schools $1 for every $3 spent on food grown in New Hampshire or $1 for every $6 on food grown in New England.
Wanda Kirker, the general manager of nutritional services for Whitsons Culinary Group, which provides food service to Jaffrey-Rindge, said the district has sourced local food from several area farms.
Among them were apples from Brookdale Fruit Farm in Hollis, corn and butternut squash from Pete’s Farm Stand in Walpole, maple syrup from Ben’s Pure Maple Products/Sugar Shack in Temple, eggs from Picket Fence Farm in Jaffrey, beets from Piccadilly Farm in Winchester and beef from Montshire Farm and Butchery in North Haverhill.
“We really have honed in on that grant and used it to the best of our ability,” Kirker said. “I’m not sure what it holds in the future, but it’s been a great asset to us this year.”
The board also accepted the funds from the New Hampshire Farm to School Local Incentive program as unanticipated revenue unanimously.