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School administrators: SEABHS ignored calls for help
Thelma Grimes/San Pedro Valley News-Sun
A lack of management at the Southeastern Arizona Behavioral Health Services, Inc. (SEABHS) during the last few years has had a direct impact on the community, and area school districts are asking for policy changes that will result in help for students in need.
Without medical assistance, a handful of mentally ill students can disrupt entire classrooms all day. Unfortunately, school districts say that because of a lack of cooperation from SEABHS, they are trying to find a way to deal with the problems.
During a Dec. 9 SEABHS board meeting, Rob Jones, president of the Special Education Administrators of Southeastern Arizona (SEASEA), and Larry Curry, the special education director for the Benson School District, made a plea for the mental health agency to start working alongside school districts, rather than ignoring them, which officials say has been the norm.
Jones, the special services director for the Willcox School District, and Curry expressed frustration over the entire situation. Curry, the former president of the SEASEA, said under former CEO Dana Johnson's management, when a school contacted SEABHS about a student who might need medical intervention, often they were ignored.
When calls at the lower levels did not work, Curry and Jones said they would try to call administrators, including Johnson. None of the calls were returned. Curry said when Benson Superintendent David Woodall tried calling on behalf of the special education students, his calls were also ignored.
The board fired Johnson last month after information surfaced about her borrowing $150,000 from the company in 2004 and never repaying it.
Curry said after he learned SEABHS had loaned Johnson $150,000, allowed her to by a Cadillac and has been spending $650,000 a year on vehicle maintenance, he and Jones felt it was time for them to speak up on behalf of the schools.
Currry said he contacted board member Marcelino Varona Jr. about the problem after reading in news reports that the Nogales representative has been pushing for change in the non-profit organization to benefit the community.
Varona had the two men added to the Dec. 9 agenda, and read into record the email Curry sent regarding the problem.
Jones said the biggest problem has been a lack of communication.
"We have a lot of students with behavioral issues, and we've tried everything from the education side at school; we need outside help," he said. "It has been a constant battle with this agency to get students help. These are big issues inside a school district. We have tried to get a connection between the agencies, only to be stonewalled every time a student needs help."
Curry and Jones said this not a recent problem, estimating that they have been trying to get SEABHS cooperation for years.
Benson High School Dean of Students James Driggers said when a handful of students from every school district are presenting problems, the numbers add up and so do the number of disruptions inside a classroom.
"It hurts us as a school because of the fact that we have nowhere else to go," he said. "We need this outside agency to step in, and when they don't, where do we go to get that student help? Something has to be done, because when we have one of these students, they don't just disrupt one classroom, they disrupt seven, because that's how many times they change classes in a day."
In a recent interview, Woodall estimated the student to teacher ratio is 19 to one. With those numbers, one disruptive student can halt the education process for up to 126 students per day.
Jones said not only can a student in need of medical attention disrupt classrooms; they also become the center point at home and wreak havoc there.
Driggers said when discipline problems come up, that student is also taking a lot of time in the office that requires action from administrators.
Curry said in some cases the student may just need therapy. In others, medication may be required, but without action from SEABHS with its medical expertise, the school has no alternatives. In some cases, Jones said it is emergency, and the student has become a threat to himself or other students.
Administrators have also considered looking to SEABHS' competition for support. Pantano Behavioral Health Services is located in Tucson, and Neal Cash, president of the Community Partnership of Southern Arizona, Regional Behavioral Health Authority (CPSA), said they are considering expansion into other communities.
Without that expansion, Jones said it's difficult to change because parents would be responsible for transporting the students. However, if the problems persist, he said they would have no other choice.
In May, Jones said administrators drafted a letter asking the CPSA to step in.
Signed by 14 school administrators, the letter stated, "As members of a professional organization of Special Education Directors in Cochise County, we respectfully request that there be enhanced communication between mental health providers and public school agencies. We advocate for students who are in need of significant therapeutic intervention and treatment not available in the public school settings, because they truly need a more restrictive environment prior to learning and achieving according to Arizona state standards."
Jones said Cash responded quickly and there was a meeting, but there was no change at SEABHS.
Administrators said at times SEABHS even played parents against the school, telling them their children didn't need intervention. Parents become skeptical of the school's assessment, and it slows down getting the help required, Jones said.
During the Dec. 9 meeting, board member Dick Hamilton agreed that students need help but asked who has to pay the costs.
Jones explained that the state has vouchers, and there are laws that require mental health facilities to provide necessary services to students.
Acting CEO Jim Rubio stressed that the most important thing is to address the problem, improve communication and make sure students get the help they need.
"The children need these services, and that's what we need to do," he said. "We will do that. We will get back on board and we will show progress."
Cash said Tuesday that CPSA has some concerns with how SEABHS is delivering services, and if corrections aren't made, they will create a corrective-action plan specifying the changes that must be made.
If changes aren't made, SEABHS could lose up to $35 million in public health funds.
A lack of management at the Southeastern Arizona Behavioral Health Services, Inc. (SEABHS) during the last few years has had a direct impact on the community, and area school districts are asking for policy changes that will result in help for students in need.
Without medical assistance, a handful of mentally ill students can disrupt entire classrooms all day. Unfortunately, school districts say that because of a lack of cooperation from SEABHS, they are trying to find a way to deal with the problems.
During a Dec. 9 SEABHS board meeting, Rob Jones, president of the Special Education Administrators of Southeastern Arizona (SEASEA), and Larry Curry, the special education director for the Benson School District, made a plea for the mental health agency to start working alongside school districts, rather than ignoring them, which officials say has been the norm.
Jones, the special services director for the Willcox School District, and Curry expressed frustration over the entire situation. Curry, the former president of the SEASEA, said under former CEO Dana Johnson's management, when a school contacted SEABHS about a student who might need medical intervention, often they were ignored.
When calls at the lower levels did not work, Curry and Jones said they would try to call administrators, including Johnson. None of the calls were returned. Curry said when Benson Superintendent David Woodall tried calling on behalf of the special education students, his calls were also ignored.
The board fired Johnson last month after information surfaced about her borrowing $150,000 from the company in 2004 and never repaying it.
Curry said after he learned SEABHS had loaned Johnson $150,000, allowed her to by a Cadillac and has been spending $650,000 a year on vehicle maintenance, he and Jones felt it was time for them to speak up on behalf of the schools.
Currry said he contacted board member Marcelino Varona Jr. about the problem after reading in news reports that the Nogales representative has been pushing for change in the non-profit organization to benefit the community.
Varona had the two men added to the Dec. 9 agenda, and read into record the email Curry sent regarding the problem.
Jones said the biggest problem has been a lack of communication.
"We have a lot of students with behavioral issues, and we've tried everything from the education side at school; we need outside help," he said. "It has been a constant battle with this agency to get students help. These are big issues inside a school district. We have tried to get a connection between the agencies, only to be stonewalled every time a student needs help."
Curry and Jones said this not a recent problem, estimating that they have been trying to get SEABHS cooperation for years.
Benson High School Dean of Students James Driggers said when a handful of students from every school district are presenting problems, the numbers add up and so do the number of disruptions inside a classroom.
"It hurts us as a school because of the fact that we have nowhere else to go," he said. "We need this outside agency to step in, and when they don't, where do we go to get that student help? Something has to be done, because when we have one of these students, they don't just disrupt one classroom, they disrupt seven, because that's how many times they change classes in a day."
In a recent interview, Woodall estimated the student to teacher ratio is 19 to one. With those numbers, one disruptive student can halt the education process for up to 126 students per day.
Jones said not only can a student in need of medical attention disrupt classrooms; they also become the center point at home and wreak havoc there.
Driggers said when discipline problems come up, that student is also taking a lot of time in the office that requires action from administrators.
Curry said in some cases the student may just need therapy. In others, medication may be required, but without action from SEABHS with its medical expertise, the school has no alternatives. In some cases, Jones said it is emergency, and the student has become a threat to himself or other students.
Administrators have also considered looking to SEABHS' competition for support. Pantano Behavioral Health Services is located in Tucson, and Neal Cash, president of the Community Partnership of Southern Arizona, Regional Behavioral Health Authority (CPSA), said they are considering expansion into other communities.
Without that expansion, Jones said it's difficult to change because parents would be responsible for transporting the students. However, if the problems persist, he said they would have no other choice.
In May, Jones said administrators drafted a letter asking the CPSA to step in.
Signed by 14 school administrators, the letter stated, "As members of a professional organization of Special Education Directors in Cochise County, we respectfully request that there be enhanced communication between mental health providers and public school agencies. We advocate for students who are in need of significant therapeutic intervention and treatment not available in the public school settings, because they truly need a more restrictive environment prior to learning and achieving according to Arizona state standards."
Jones said Cash responded quickly and there was a meeting, but there was no change at SEABHS.
Administrators said at times SEABHS even played parents against the school, telling them their children didn't need intervention. Parents become skeptical of the school's assessment, and it slows down getting the help required, Jones said.
During the Dec. 9 meeting, board member Dick Hamilton agreed that students need help but asked who has to pay the costs.
Jones explained that the state has vouchers, and there are laws that require mental health facilities to provide necessary services to students.
Acting CEO Jim Rubio stressed that the most important thing is to address the problem, improve communication and make sure students get the help they need.
"The children need these services, and that's what we need to do," he said. "We will do that. We will get back on board and we will show progress."
Cash said Tuesday that CPSA has some concerns with how SEABHS is delivering services, and if corrections aren't made, they will create a corrective-action plan specifying the changes that must be made.
If changes aren't made, SEABHS could lose up to $35 million in public health funds.
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Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of bensonnews-sun.com.
Concerned Parent wrote on Dec 23, 2009 12:47 PM:
" I am in shock that these administrators are the leaders of our schools. These comments from the administrators are all lies. I know for a fact that a SEABHS case manager spends at least two days a week at the local schools with SEABHS enrolled kids working on skills building and gathering information on how the kids act in their environment so that the case manager knows what to work on with the child. I know for a fact that the high needs case manager spent a full day at the school helping a student transition to high school. I know for a fact that SEABHS employees have worked very hard in our community to help students that are ENROLLED at SEABHS correcting behavior health issues. I know for a fact that the schools make it very difficult for SEABHS to help our children because the schools don’t want to deal with the behavior health issues. This isn’t speaking for all school employees but the ones in this article are grossly mistaken and OPINIONS are untrue. Side note you have to enroll your child in SEABHS for SEABHS to be allowed to help the child. If they don’t SEABHS cant do anything. I know for a fact that Dana has responded to every complaint that has ever been made whether true or UNTRUE. There needs to be facts shown before having diarrhea of the mouth splattered on the newspaper. I think that the author of this article should get her facts right and print a retraction of this article. The administrators in this article and author of this article should be ashamed of themselves. "
Inconsistant information wrote on Dec 23, 2009 2:02 PM:
" It is unfornunate that the Benson school administrators are so diluted that their only recourse is to blame shift instead of recognizing how many families have benefited from the support and dedication of SEABHS staff. The truth is that the school refuses to collaborate with anyone who doesn't agree with their distorted views of expelling any child with a behavioral problem or send them off to an RTC, which is an ineffective treatment modality. The Benson community and school system would greatly improve if these tired, washed - out administrators retired and allowed creative, open-minded indivduals step in. "
No Funds for What wrote on Dec 24, 2009 9:43 AM:
" The issue with SEABHS -- experts in "Behaviioral Health Services" -- and the schools goes back to the power over treatments that are medical and not educational. The arguments for or against such treatment cannot be made or rightfully accomplished in schools, and funding is legally separated by agencies. SEABHS has ignored many agencies, including courts of law. Now they can work on behavioral health and not perks for "executives." "
Larry K wrote on Dec 24, 2009 12:16 PM:
" If the brats don’t behave send them off to a labor camp. Far too much of the teachers time is spent on kids with behavior problems. Teachers should be allowed to concentrate on students who want to learn. After two offenses during any school year get rid of them for good. The school did not make them behavior problems and they can’t cure them. I want my children to learn, not sit in class and watch “bug cases” disrupting their class. "
Are you kidding me wrote on Dec 19, 2009 10:13 PM: