Federal government cancels Crystal Lake District 47’s multimillion-dollar mental health grant

A federal mental health grant totaling $5.6 million that was issued to Crystal Lake Elementary School District 47 was one of more than 100 nationwide that were canceled last week by U.S. Department of Education, which said the grants “conflict” with the priorities of the administration of President Donald Trump.

The Project LAKE grant, or Learning Acceptance through Kindness for Everyone, was issued to District 47 in 2023 by the U.S. Department of Education to recruit and retain 12 mental health service providers. Over 100 school districts nationwide received LAKE grants, totaling almost $1 billion through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which were awarded in response to the 2022 fatal elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

A letter sent to District 47 on April 29 from the federal Department of Education Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development stated the funding will end January. The letter, signed by senior advisor Murray Bessette, stated the grant funds programs “that reflect the prior administration’s priorities and policy preferences and conflict with those of the current administration.”

The decision was made after the federal agency determined that the grants “violate the letter or purpose of Federal civil rights law; conflict with the Department’s policy of prioritizing merit, fairness, and excellence in education; undermine the well-being of the students these programs are intended to help; or constitute an inappropriate use of federal funds,” according to the letter.

“The grant is therefore inconsistent with, and no longer effectuates, the best interest of the federal government and will not be continued,” Bessette said in the letter.

Bessette leads the department’s programming for America 250 and the Presidential Advisory 1776 Commission, according to Bessette’s website.

Superintendent Kathy Hinz said in a letter to District 47 families last week that the district was “disappointed” to share the news of the end of the grant, which is about halfway through its original five-year timeframe. Despite the abrupt cut in funds, District 47 does not expect to see any immediate changes and staff hired through the grant will remain employed “for the entire 2025-2026 school year,” Hinz wrote.

“We have the next year to review the data and plan for what comes next,” Hinz said in the letter. “We deeply value the contributions of these team members and the work they do every day.”

Through the grant, five social workers and six school counselors were hired along with the creation of Kristin Schmidt’s social-emotional learning director role. She was previously the district’s assistant director of special education.

The grant also funded a one-year contract with Daybreak Health, a California-based provider of school-based mental health services, to provide virtual teletherapy sessions with qualified mental health clinicians. Within that first year, more than 100 students accessed the services, Schmidt said. Daybreak’s services will be provided until the end of the school year, with a goal to extend the contract for another school year, depending on a board vote in July.

“Obviously, given everything that is going on, I would never say that it’s a guarantee considering it’s May and that’s July,” Schmidt said.

According to the letter sent by the U.S. Department of Education, the district can put in a request to reconsider the decision within the month. Schmidt said the district is taking a “power in numbers” approach by working with the Illinois State Board of Education to explore ways all seven Illinois school districts affected can fight back.

“This is a much bigger issue than a District 47 issue,” Schmidt said. “This is a student issue. This is a children’s mental health issue.”

In the meantime, District 47 plans to continue to analyze how social-emotional learning affects students from behavioral health and academic standpoints. Though disappointed by the funding cut, Schmidt said she’s hopeful, based on the support she has received from the community. She says to “stay tuned” as she brainstorms ways the community can rally together in support.

“I want to make sure we go in a thoughtful way that presents the idea ... that we just want to do right by kids and make sure it doesn’t become something political in nature,” she said. “It really is about mental health needs, and I want to make sure what we do lends its voice to that purpose, that it doesn’t get skewed in any way.”