The Hopewell Valley Regional School District will receive a $75,000 direct appropriation in New Jersey’s newly adopted state budget, funding that district leaders say will allow them to continue a student mental health partnership they feared could be lost because of recent budget constraints.
The funding, secured through the support of Sen. Shirley Turner and co-sponsored by Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson and Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli, will support the district’s partnership with Attitudes In Reverse (A.I.R.), a Mercer County nonprofit that provides mental health education and therapy dog visits to schools.
“I want to extend the District’s deepest gratitude for the incredible support provided by Senator Turner,” Superintendent Dr. Rosetta Treece said. “Without her help, this would not have been possible.”
Treece said the partnership began after the Hopewell Valley community experienced the tragic loss of a student to suicide and has since become an important part of the district’s student wellness efforts.
“Our partnership with Attitudes In Reverse holds profound meaning for us,” Treece said. “In addition to providing therapeutic support through their therapy dogs, Ms. Baker delivers presentations to our youngest students that teach them how to recognize signs of anxiety and depression and when to seek help.”
With the district facing difficult financial decisions during this year’s budget process, Treece said administrators were concerned the programming might have to be eliminated.
“With recent budget constraints, we were deeply concerned about having to cut this essential programming,” she said. “We are thrilled to announce that we can now welcome a new cohort this upcoming fall.”
Treece also thanked Reynolds-Jackson and Verrelli for supporting the request.
“Without their collective advocacy and support, continuing this program would not have been possible,” she said.
A Rare District-Specific Appropriation
Board of Education member Dhruv Kapadia, who chairs the board’s Government Relations Committee, said the funding represents one of only a handful of district-specific appropriations included in this year’s state budget.
“This appropriation is especially meaningful because of how extraordinarily competitive it was,” Kapadia said. “Hopewell Valley was one of just ten school districts statewide to receive a direct line-item appropriation in this year’s budget.”
He noted that lawmakers significantly reduced the overall amount of discretionary appropriations included in the budget compared with last year, making the district’s inclusion even more significant.
Kapadia also connected the funding to broader concerns about student well-being.
“We’re living through a youth mental health crisis, and our students have been telling us that,” he said, citing a Hopewell Valley Youth Advisory Board survey that found many high school students experience significant stress related to academics, extracurricular activities and social pressures. “Budgets are ultimately moral documents—they reveal what we choose to value. If public dollars aren’t being invested in helping young people feel safe, supported and able to thrive, then we’re failing as public leaders.”
Continuing an Important Partnership
Attitudes In Reverse was founded by the Baker family following the loss of their son to suicide and works to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health while providing education and support to schools and communities.
In Hopewell Valley, the organization is perhaps best known for bringing therapy dogs into schools and providing age-appropriate presentations that help students recognize signs of anxiety and depression while encouraging them to seek help when needed.
Kapadia said preserving those services was a priority.
“I’m incredibly proud that this funding allows us to continue our partnership with the Baker family and Attitudes In Reverse,” he said. “Expanding mental health programming, keeping therapy dogs in our schools, and ensuring students have trusted adults and compassionate support isn’t charity—it’s what a community investing in itself looks like.”
