Cherry Hill Township Council voted to send $240,000 in opioid settlement money to the public schools. The funds will pay a licensed mental health clinician to work with high school students over two years.

The council approved the allocation at its Monday, Sept. 14 meeting, drawing from a fund balance of about $764,000, as first reported by 70And73.

Mayor David Fleisher appeared before the Cherry Hill Board of Education on Tuesday, Sept. 22 to announce the contribution in person. He told the board the clinician position addresses "a very specific targeted need" in the district.

"This is one way for us to take a bite out of that problem," Fleisher said in an interview with 70And73, calling mental health a national challenge Cherry Hill is not immune to.

The money comes from Cherry Hill's share of a national settlement with pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors and retailers over their roles in the opioid crisis. New Jersey's total share exceeds $1.1 billion, to be paid through 2038, according to the New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller.

Half goes to the state. The other half flows to 262 local governments, including all 21 counties and municipalities with populations above 10,000.

Under state law, settlement dollars must supplement existing programs, not replace them. The funds must go toward addressing opioid use disorder or mental health conditions through evidence-based practices. That means the clinician position must be new, not a role the district was already funding.

The $240,000 commitment represents roughly 31 percent of Cherry Hill's $764,000 balance. Which high school the clinician will serve has not been announced. The district operates two: Cherry Hill High School East and Cherry Hill High School West.

Board of Education meeting minutes from the Sept. 22 session confirm Fleisher's remarks, noting the "opioid settlement fund partnership with the school district to supply a clinician per the district's proposal."

No board member or school district official has publicly commented on the allocation. The individual council vote tally has not been released; meeting minutes from the Sept. 14 session are still pending.