Muscogee County schools will get nearly $2 million in funding for mental health resources

Local Columbus schools are set to get a big grant for students’ mental health resources.

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff’s office announced $1.9 million in federal funding for Muscogee County School District through the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act” to help provide mental health resources for multiple school districts. Additional money will go to several school districts.

The federal money is from the U.S. Department of Education’s School Based Mental Health Grant Program, which will help school districts hire more counselors and better support students, Ossoff’s office said.

“Bringing both political parties together and putting the needs of our kids above partisan interests, I helped pass bipartisan legislation to strengthen mental health services for young people in Georgia across the country,” Ossoff said in a statement.

“There are real and ongoing mental health concerns for young people, particularly students in K-12 schools, and it’s an issue parents across Georgia care deeply about,” the statement says.

MCSD plans to recruit 11 full-time social workers and 11 full-time psychologists “to better serve students across the Columbus area” using this money, Ossoff’s office said.

Other counties getting grant money include Bibb County, Fulton County and Gwinnett County, according to Ossoff.

Bibb County will receive $2.57 million in funding, Fulton County will receive $470,223 and Gwinnett County will receive $2.45 million, according to the release.