HARTSBURG, Ill. (WAND) - Earlier this year, Logan County voted to allow a small school district to hire two mental health professionals.

On the 2021 April ballot, Logan County had the option to vote yes or no to a referendum to allow Hartsburg-Emden CUSD to hire a school resource officer and allow the social worker to be in the building for more than one day. The county voted yes.

Hartsburg-Emden CUSD school leaders said the vote has made the world of a difference already this school year. The SRO and social worker were vital in helping students. Superintendent Terry Wisniewski said at the beginning of the school year two students died in a car accident.

"Our community knows we had a very rough start. We lost two junior boys in a car accident. Having these two on board this year with the COVID factors and that incident happened has been nothing short of a God sent," Wisniewski said. 

The SRO is hired through the Logan County Sheriff's Office. Sergeant Josh Pharis is shared between Hartsburg-Emden and Mt. Pulaski schools. He told WAND News being in the school is an opportunity to connect with students.

"Sometimes the conversations are not really about school related stuff, but I try to help them out as much as I possibly can," Pharis said. 

In years past, the social worker would come in for a half day once a week. With the referendum passing, Brittany Kemp is able to meet with students two full days a week.

"Often times, we find students who are really struggling in the classroom respond to adults who have a relationship, and so it makes it much easier when those crisis situations arise for me to go into a classroom and help when I am able to have that connection with a student," said Kemp.

Her role with the district includes meeting with special education students and other students. She does one-on-one and small group support.

"Academics are important," she shared. "What also is important is that social-emotional aspect we want students to be able to carry."

Superintendent Wisniewski said it wasn't an easy journey to get to this point. Hartsburg-Emden is a small school district with a tight budget. However, he is thankful that the county voted to allow these resources to be available.