Mental Health Expenses Are 'Not Sustainable,' Chatham Board Says

CHATHAM, NJ — Members of the Chatham Board of Education discussed a recent lawsuit filed against several large technology companies, alleging that they were to blame for a worsening mental health crisis among students.

The school district recently partnered with the law firm of Carella Byrne on a contingency basis to go up against Meta Platforms, Inc., formerly known as Facebook, Inc., Instagram, YouTube, LLC, Snap Inc., TikTok Inc., and ByteDance Inc.

The new legal action, according to Superintendent Michael LaSusa, will have no effect on the tax burden, and the law firm will only be compensated if a monetary award is made.

Chatham Board of Education President Jill Critchley Weber discussed the case and its implications for the district during a meeting on Monday night.

Weber claims that the law firm specifically requested that Chatham be a party to the lawsuit for two reasons: first, because the district had previously discussed mental health; and second, because the school district had been investing money in mental health services.

"We have been extremely proactive in putting real resources and real dollars toward our mental health and trying to get in front of some of it and making sure we have support for our students before something bad happens," Weber said.

The school district spent $1 million in excess costs for mental health programs and resources for students in the previous year, according to Bradley Smith, chair of the board's finance and facilities committee.

"That is money that is not in the budget. We have talked at length about the budget over the last few weeks and the last few years, and it's simply not sustainable. Our current budget does not support it and it's going to detract and it has already detracted from real instructional programs," Smith said.

According to the lawsuit, the school district has and will continue to incur additional costs in order to treat the children entrusted to them, such as hiring mental health professionals and developing additional mental health resources.

The increased demand for mental health programming places schools on the front lines of an "unfair fight," according to the lawsuit.

Riley Druhot, the board's newly appointed student representative, also spoke in favor of the lawsuit, claiming that the entire student body is in support of the school district.

"I think it's important to hear from a student standpoint. I've used the mental health services at our high school numerous times, I'm extremely grateful for all that you guys have put into it. A lot of it does come from the social media aspect," Druhot said.

Weber stated that the lawsuit's goal is to put pressure on tech companies to make fundamental changes to their policies, such as algorithm changes, improved age verification software and enhanced location safety features.

"Something has to change before a real tragedy happens," Weber said.

Emily Sortino, assistant superintendent of student support services, also stated that the school district of the Chathams conducted a survey of the student body, which revealed a rise in both anxiety and depression in Chatham schools.