photo by: Mackenzie Clark/Journal-World File Photo

The Lawrence Board of Education meeting room at district offices, 110 McDonald Drive, is pictured in this file photo from Feb. 25, 2019.

The Lawrence school board will soon hear a report on how the school district is helping students with their behavioral health needs, including mental health.

During the board’s meeting on Monday, Kevin Harrell, executive director for student services, and Jose Cornejo, mental health facilitator, will explain the school district’s current behavioral health programming and highlight accomplishments the school district has met through it.

“The purpose of this programming is to support district service providers, students, staff and a healthy school environment,” the memo said.

Each school building in the Lawrence school district has a mental health team, which is charged with promoting mental health interventions and services for students, according to the memo. They also work to educate staff on mental health issues and the impact on school climate and learning. The report is expected to highlight some of the interventions staff have implemented and professional development opportunities educators have used to better understand behavioral health topics.

As of Friday, a report document was not published in the meeting agenda.

In other business, the board will consider making several technology purchases worth about $181,000 with funds it received from the federal government in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The purchases — which would cover the costs associated with technology upgrades for the school district’s communication methods in light of the pandemic — would be made through funding the school district received from the federal government’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as CARES. The school district received about $1.4 million through the funding package and has a little more than two years to spend the funding, according to a memo to the board.

The purchases are scheduled for the meeting’s consent agenda, which allows the board to consider and approve several items in one motion, unless a board member or member of the public asks to pull an item for discussion.

The school board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday through an online conference call. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the school district encourages the public to to watch the meeting on Midco channel 26 or online at youtube.com/USD497.

Those who want to speak during public comments at the meeting can still do so. The school district asks for comments to be sent by email to PatronCommentary@usd497.org by 6 p.m. the day of the meeting. Comments can also be emailed to board members ahead of the meeting. Their contact information is available on the district’s website at usd497.org/Board.