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Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson faced intense pressure last year from fellow commissioners to reverse proposed cuts to the county’s school-based mental health program.
The program, which operates in several metro-area school districts, including Portland Public Schools, provides therapists to work with students who have diagnosable mental health conditions. Therapists conduct suicide risk screenings, engage in crisis management and provide mental health services on site. Last year, Vega Pederson ultimately reversed course, co-sponsoring an amendment with County Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards to bring back six therapists.
But now, sources close to the matter tell WW that four employees providing mental health services in schools have been identified as possible cuts in the county health department’s budget for fiscal year 2027 to save $417,809.
Sarah Dean, a spokeswoman for the county, says there will be changes between the initial budgets submitted by departments, which go public on Friday; the chair’s proposed budget, which will be released on April 16; and a final budget approved by the board by June 4.
“Chair Vega Pederson directed departments to submit proposals that include a 5% general fund reduction, providing her a range of options to accommodate a $10.5 million general fund shortfall,” Dean says, adding that the health department faces many challenges with changes in federal, state and local funding.
Board members have already voiced concern. Brim-Edwards said at a recent board meeting that commissioners “were very explicit” about the importance of the mental health positions when they restored them the first time. At that board meeting, she expressed some concerns that the program might even face mid-year cuts, but since confirmed to WW that it isn’t on the table.
Brim-Edwards tells WW, however, that cuts could be on the horizon and that she won’t support those cuts. She says she’s in agreement with at least one other commissioner so far.
Local school districts will also be keeping a close watch: “These services are especially vital in areas across the county where families face limited provider availability, transportation challenges, and shortages of culturally specific mental health providers,” says Lisa Merrick of the Multnomah Education Service District.
Merrick adds: “Losing four FTE would not only create gaps at individual schools, but would undermine the broader service delivery model districts rely on to provide timely, trusted support. At a time of overlapping federal, state, and local challenges, districts are urging policymakers to keep students at the center of budget decisions and protect the staffing and supports that are essential to student success and community stability.”
