In a series of hearings Tuesday, the Montgomery County Council approved spending designed to provide a range of services for young people and their families at the Maryland county’s high schools.
The council approved $3 million for portable classrooms, $2 million in funding for the wellness centers, and another $3 million for mental health programming and youth development programs.
Members of the public testified remotely, including Cristian Pereira, who explained that he was helped by programming available at the wellness center at Northwood High school.
Speaking in Spanish through a translator, he said he was encouraged by one of the specialists there to attend Montgomery College, and he is now working in a youth development program at Northwood.
In voting to approve the $8 million in funding, Council member Nancy Navarro told her colleagues on the council, “This, in my opinion, is a really, really awesome example of what these type of services do and why it is so important to invest in these.”
Expanding the types of programs available in the Montgomery County high school wellness centers to all high schools became a priority as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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