Students call for more counselors at La Crosse schools

More counselors for public schools are being sought by some La Crosse high school students, as the school board considers spending priorities for the next budget.

At Monday’s school board meeting, a group of students argued that the counseling staff at high schools needs to be increased.

“The district says that their plan is to push the needle for students academically and socially, emotionally,” Amber, one of the student speakers, said. “However, students aren’t seeing those direct actions in front of them.”

The district recently bought an RV for use as a mobile classroom, but Amber said the $300,000 purchase will only benefit a few students at a time.

Carter, a Logan High student, said during the meeting there’s a mental health crisis in the district.

“We have faced this crisis without help from trained professionals,” he said. “It has been shown that school is an integral place for development, academic and emotional. This emotional development is shown through identities, and passions students find.”

Carter added that there’s a lack of staffers of color and LGBTQ staffers within the La Crosse schools, and he thinks more counselors are needed to help students deal with bullying and peer pressure.