Rochester May Cut Counselors

Rochester City School District is weighing cuts that would strip about $2.8 million from counseling and mental health services in its 2026-27 budget. (rcsdk12.org) The district posted its draft budget book on April 14, 2026, and held a public budget hearing on April 21 at 131 West Broad Street. District leaders are expected to vote on the budget May 5. (rcsdk12.org) (13wham.com) Local reporting on the draft says the reductions would hit counseling, social work and psychology funding by about $3 million, with roughly 45 guidance counselor and social worker positions at risk. (wxxinews.org) (whec.com) The proposal lands months after a district ad hoc mental health committee urged Rochester schools to expand training and preventive support for students before they reach a crisis. (wxxinews.org) That advice came after a Rochester student died by suicide in 2025, a death that prompted the district to assemble the committee and review how schools respond to student mental health needs. (wxxinews.org) The regional backdrop is grim. Common Ground Health says emergency-department visit rates for self-harm in the Finger Lakes region rose 473% for children ages 6 to 13 and 211% for teens ages 14 to 17 between 2006-08 and 2021-23. (commongroundhealth.org) Common Ground Health also said self-harm was the leading behavioral-health reason young people ages 6 to 21 went to emergency departments in 2023, and 71% returned for more behavioral-health treatment within the same year. (commongroundhealth.org) At the April 21 hearing, parents, teachers and advocates urged the board to reverse the cuts, including proposed reductions tied to social work and home-hospital instruction for medically fragile students. (13wham.com) District leaders said after the draft was released, Rochester schools were awarded nearly $5 million in grant funding, and board president Camille Simmons said those added dollars could help address priorities raised at the hearing. (13wham.com) For now, the fight is over whether Rochester closes a budget gap by cutting the staff students see in school hallways and counseling offices, or finds the money somewhere else before the May 5 vote. (13wham.com)