It was a sunny day without a cloud in the sky. Mountain bikers passed along a Glenwood Open Space Preserve trail above Scotts Valley High School to the sound of birds chirping.
In the three years since Mateo Deihl took his life, after experiencing unkind treatment while attending the school, a student-led Hope Squad was established, initiatives to stamp-out racism and bullying were launched, and $1 million was secured from the federal government for a campus Wellness Center—the first of its kind in Santa Cruz County.
But on the morning of Jan. 28—as dignitaries prepared to gather outside the new facility for a ribbon-cutting—the Donald Trump Administration threw the funding into jeopardy, by freezing dollars for a massive number of federal programs.
The district’s congressman, Jimmy Panetta, was furious.
“What you have to realize is, with this administration…they’re gonna make these types of decisions that are unlawful, that are unconstitutional,” Panetta said in an interview with the Press Banner. “And we will do everything we can to assure the validity of our power of the purse—especially when it comes to funds that have already been appropriated under the law…so that projects like this can continue to get funded, and we can continue to affect people here on the ground.”
In her public remarks, Scotts Valley Unified School District Superintendent Tanya Krause called the Scotts Valley High School Wellness Center a “labor of love” brought into reality through collaboration.
“The Wellness Center is designed to be a safe, welcoming space, where students can access support, information and resources for mental health, sexual health and substance abuse,” Krause said. “As we all know, mental health concerns among students are increasing. And many are grappling with feelings of hopelessness. We recognize the need to make these resources more accessible. And today we celebrate a significant step forward.”
Unlike many of the drastic moves coming from the White House, the government quickly unpaused the discretionary spending.
But as the money hung in the balance during the Wellness Center opening, Panetta said this was just one of many mental health programs being put at risk by the Trump Administration.
“We passed the bipartisan Safer Communities Act that provided billions for mental health services at the local level. The decision that was made by this administration could cut off that funding,” he said, giving another example. “You have an administration that claims they’re for working families, but the decision that was made today will stop nutrition assistance, will stop housing assistance, will stop support for our law enforcement officers, will stop support for wildfire suppression efforts.”
However, officials at the ceremony said mental health has become such a priority in the community over recent years, they were confident the Wellness Center would continue to operate even without dollars from the feds.
For one, Michael Paynter, the Santa Cruz County Office of Education’s executive director of student support services, told the newspaper they’d already spent around $500,000 of the federal money.
Plus, they’d received $100,000 from Kaiser Permanente of Northern California (and have about half of that left).
In addition, they’re getting around $50,000 annually from a Prop 63 “Mental Health Services Act” State grant—which is generated by a 1% tax on personal income above $1 million.
SVUSD student trustee Toka Mohamed told the audience she was pleased to vote in support of the Wellness Center, during a board meeting last May.
“It’s come a long way since then, and we’re very proud to be the first high school in North County with its own wellness center,” Mohamed said. “Personally, I really thought that this would be a great space for students to have trained mental health professionals help them at every level of need.”
A representative for State Assemblymember Gail Pellerin said, while she was tied up with work in Sacramento, it was important for her boss to send someone to emphasize her support for the project. Pellerin recently marked six years since the loss of her husband to suicide.
“Mental health is an issue that Assemblymember Pellerin holds very close to her heart. She is a passionate advocate for openly addressing mental health challenges, and ensuring access to mental health services for those in need,” the aide said. “This center represents a vital step forward in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of students. May this be a start of a legacy that inspires more communities to prioritize mental health and create spaces for everyone to thrive.”
Faris Sabbah, the County Office of Ed’s superintendent of schools, said the Wellness Center opening denotes a turning point in the struggle to improve mental health services.
“This is a moment that is representative of a County-wide partnership to increase wellness and create more spaces where students feel a sense of belonging,” Sabbah said in his speech. “I’m especially excited about how the Hope Squad—which is the first Hope Squad in our high schools in Santa Cruz County—has been working not only to support students, but working to guide the design and implementation of the space.”
That space features lots of light, multiple rooms, comfy seating, a bright-but-not-too-bright color scheme and student-created artwork. In addition to the onsite mental health professionals, who operate on a multi-tier support model, the center has developed partnerships with a variety of organizations, such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the Diversity Center and Encompass Community Services.
Now, school officials want to establish wellness centers like this across the county. Planning is already underway for one at a San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District campus.
Paynter said the money that’s come in for the Scotts Valley center will serve as a wellspring for future mental health initiatives.
“We are hopeful these grants will act as seed money to launch at least half-a-dozen wellness centers at comprehensive high schools, allowing time for the COE and school districts to set up and model revenue from the new School-Linked Multi-Payer Fee Schedule set to be operational at some level this summer,” Paynter said in an email. “Ideally, these new mechanisms for funding educationally attached and connected behavioral health services will establish a more sustainable and dependable source of funding for counseling and wellness support in schools.”
