Brainerd School Board to Implement Mental Health Task Force

There is a mental health task force in the works for Brainerd Public Schools.

Following a Brainerd School Board meeting late last month, the board’s student support services committee is now exploring the possibility of further addressing students’ mental health needs.

The board’s action to call for a mental health task force stems from the work the board’s equity task force has compiled the past few years. Demand has come from the community, who have expressed concerns for student mental health, namely since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.

“Anecdotally, what we know is post-pandemic, you know, some of those behavioral and mental health issues have spiked,” shared Brainerd School Board Chair Kevin Boyles. “And although it sort of appears to sort of level off, that’s not really where we want to be. We don’t want to be leveled off from that high level, we want to get back to where we were well before the pandemic, if not improve upon that.”

School board members and district staff believe the mental health discussion ties into the discussion around the possible impacts of cell phone use, another policy the board is currently working on.

“We know that electronic device use with young people, but also with adults – there’s a lot of time being spent and I don’t know that we could see the evidence that would contribute to a healthier lifestyle, how we feel mentally, and also it can impact our physical health as well,” said Brainerd High School Principal Andrea Rusk.

According to the 2022 Minnesota Student Survey, 29% of students reported greater struggles with mental health than at any other time since the state first recorded data in 1989. The data also showed that reports of 11th graders having considered suicide jumped to 28%.

“I think, again, not being an expert in the field, it challenges with enrollment, challenges with attendance, challenges with student behavior,” said Boyles. “It’s really a question of where do you start to tackle something like that? And again, what what role does the school district itself play in that?”

Now, after learning that the school board is taking action to further quell concerns for student mental health, the community response has been more than encouraging.

“I had a few community members contact me, want to be part of it. They feel very committed to being part of the solution,” explained Rusk. “I also know that our students have been interested in being more involved with some of the supports that we’re going to be providing. We’re going to be working together because we have to work together.”

The Brainerd School Board does not have a definitive date for the launch of the incoming mental health task force, but members are hopeful it will be ready by winter.

If you are struggling with mental health, you can call the Suicide and Crisis Hotline at 988.