Waggoner shares $40,000 in legislative money with Vestavia Hills schools

State Sen. Jabo Waggoner has given $40,000 from his legislative discretionary fund to the Vestavia Hills school system to help the district address bullying and mental health issues.

Part of the money will help the school system purchase a Safe Schools Alert system that allows students and parents to anonymously report bullying, harassment, threats of violence or other safety concerns, said Aimee Rainey, Vestavia’s assistant superintendent of teaching and learning.

The money also will help pay for additional “mental health first aid” training for school system employees to help them better identify student needs in the mental health arena, Rainey said.

A few Vestavia Hills counselors already have been through this training, but the money from Waggoner’s office will enable more people to go through it in February, she said.

Rainey thanked Waggoner for his support during Monday night’s meeting of the Vestavia Hills Board of Education as she gave an update on numerous ways the district is working to address students’ social and emotional needs.

One new initiative is a partnership with Bradford Health Services that will allow students who test positive for drug use to receive free support, Rainey said.

The school district has always had punitive measures in place for students testing positive for drug use, but now those students will receive free assistance to help them overcome drug issues before they reach the point of no return, she said.

The school district is partnering with numerous other groups to address social and emotional needs, including the Vestavia Hills City Schools Foundation, PTO groups, churches, Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce, Help the Hills Coalition and The Hope Institute at Samford University.

School personnel are focusing on things such as character education, life skills, child abuse and suicide awareness and prevention, bullying, family stress, and helping students balance academic and extracurricular responsibilities.

They understand that students have a tough time learning if their social and emotional needs aren’t being met, Rainey said. While the district is doing a lot, there is so much more school officials can do, she said.

Superintendent Todd Freeman said district leaders understand there are some gaps in meeting students’ needs and will continue to look at staffing and professional development opportunities.

“Our chief aim is to make sure we up the ante … and keep moving this in the right way to best support kids,” Freeman said.

In other business Monday night, the school board agreed to pay about $73,000 to buy a new 20-passenger replacement bus to serve students with special needs.