Access to Behavioral Health Center begins on Dec. 1

By JEFF MORRIS 

At the Bedford Central Board of Education meeting on Nov. 19, photos were shared of construction progress at Fox Lane High School, and there was a review of the Northwell Behavioral Health Center agreement.

Northwell Health

Superintendent Robert Glass offered a recap of the district’s agreement with Northwell Health to partner in a behavioral health center, culminating in the board’s unanimous vote to authorize the agreement on Nov. 10. Glass also outlined what the next steps will be.

Board President Gilian Klein explained that the amended agreement was voted on at a special meeting because it was important to have all board members present; she noted that both Lisa Mitchell and Leo Sposato were unable to attend this meeting. She also noted that at the time the agreement was voted on, BOCES had not yet actually voted on it, but had since adopted it.

“We are ready to put this in place, and students will have full access to all aspects of the program,” she said.

Glass said he was excited and appreciative of the board’s work and tenacity, balancing supporting students’ needs and ensuring the district was not exposing itself to liabilities.

In his quick recap, Glass recalled that in July 2023, in the regular President’s Council meeting with Northern Westchester Hospital, they had proposed creating a clinic based on input from “our students, and myself, and other administrators in the region” that there was a rising mental health crisis, and it was hard to find the kind of care and support that is often needed.

Northwell rolled out a potential model in July 2023; by October 2024, Glass said, they were ready to propose a clinic. That Dec. 16, they held a meeting of an ad hoc committee with Klein and trustees Blakeley Lowry and Betsy Sharma. Questions were asked about longitudinal data for the program Northwell had been running on Long Island, bilingual capacity, program evaluations, and length of commitment.

After discussions of that information at the Feb. 5 board meeting, the idea went through the budget process. By May 2 the district received a nonbinding letter of intent; the board asked that any agreement with BOCES be shared with them when it was available.

Glass said around June they received the agreement and had questions, which they discussed with the district’s attorneys, who noted some things they might want to be concerned about regarding liability; another partner in the firm thought issuing a disclaimer would be a way to make the liability risk low.

The crux of the board’s discussions at that point, said Glass, was about their level of risk tolerance, and a vote in September resulted in the agreement not achieving the necessary number of votes. In subsequent discussions with Northwell, they seemed agreeable to indemnifying the district.

“I think what we learned from this process, is that there was a little bit of a disconnect,” said Glass. “The language I’m assuming was sort of boilerplate language that was used in these other districts, and other boards maybe didn’t pick up on the liability portion like we did.”

Eventually the language was amended to indemnify the district. 

“I just want to thank Northwell for staying in this conversation with us; they’re terrific people, and really sought to meet our needs,” Glass said. “I think what we have now will serve all the districts, including ours, a little bit better with regard to the liability question and indemnification question, and will also allow our students to now access these services.”

Glass took a moment to clarify something he had said in an interview with The Recorder.

“I said something about they’re building a plane while they’re flying it. I wish I had phrased that differently and I apologize for that,” said Glass. “What I intended to say was, in terms of the local clinic being put together, there were these nuances,” with two different clinics, “and with all those nuances, they were fully aware of what they were doing.” 

He said he did not intend to imply that Northwell was doing this on the fly. 

“They actually have this pretty well-oiled model, and they were bringing it to us — it’s new to us.”

Trustee Steven Matlin said he thought it was important to note that the changes they asked for were changed not just for BCSD, but for all the districts.

“It shows me it was an unintentional drafting mistake,” said Matlin. “I think they did the right thing by all school districts, and I want to applaud them and thank them for that.”

Glass said they will be able to access the clinic on Monday, Dec. 1. He said he received a checklist from Northwell of things the district has to do, including an onboarding questionnaire; an administrative orientation to answer questions about “how it really works on the ground”; a series of onboarding meetings with psychologists, social workers and counselors; a community and board presentation as needed; site visits to the clinic for school staff; updating the district website; and sending out a communication to the community that will include the disclaimer clause that was discussed.

Klein said in her view, a presentation for the community would be important, and Matlin agreed it should be available to a wider audience than at a board meeting.  

High school construction update

Matlin provided photos from a tour that the board had taken two weeks earlier of ongoing construction at Fox Lane High School as part of the district’s bond project.

“The good news is that the work is on time and on budget,” he said, “and is expected to be ready for the next school year.”

The photos were primarily of the locker rooms, which basically showed a lot of pipes and cinderblocks; the guidance area, with new conference rooms; and the library, which has been opened up from the old space that had a lot of columns. All of the construction is taking place behind a wall while school is in session, with no interruptions, Matlin said.