FAYETTEVILLE-MANLIUS CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT – Jay Lu, a sophomore at Fayetteville-Manlius High School, died by suicide on Friday night.
On Saturday evening, Principal Ray Kilmer sent an email to the high school community alerting them to the sad news and offering special counseling services at the school on Sunday afternoon.
“Jay’s family believed it was important for the community to know how he passed away, in hopes that it could make a difference for other students and families,” Kilmer wrote. “We are saddened by this loss and are dedicated to supporting you and your children.”
Lu participated in many activities at F-M, including Science Olympiad, The Buzz, Math League, Mock Trial and Chamber Orchestra.
Kilmer’s email was followed by an email from Dr. Craig Tice on Sunday afternoon.
“The entire governance team from the F-M Board of Education to the administration appreciates the community’s outpouring of support and suggestions,” Tice wrote. “While there will be time to listen and dialogue in the not-too-distant future, our primary focus is dedicated to providing immediate support for the grieving process.”
The district had originally planned a candlelight vigil in memory of Lu for Monday evening, but that event was postponed until Tuesday due to the winter weather.
Late Sunday afternoon a press release was sent to area media from F-M parent Alyssa Blazina announcing a student-led walkout for Monday morning in protest of the district’s handling of mental health services.
“This tragedy occurred on the heels of calls from students and parents to address mental health concerns in our school community,” the release stated. “In September 2021 Onondaga County offered a free program to schools countywide to provide mental health counselors on site to assist in addressing the increased need to treat the mental health of our children. F-M was the only district in the county to decline these services.”
Because school was delayed for two hours Monday morning because of winter weather the walkout was canceled.
In September, Tice issued a statement indicating that the district had turned down the county funding because, in some cases, it was duplicative of the services the district already provides.
The county had also offered limited funding to establish mental health clinics in the schools, which the district also declined, citing both space and programmatic concerns. The county-funded clinics would have employed providers that would not be hired by the district and would be unable to share patient information with district counselors because of doctor/patient confidentiality. In addition, their services would have been billed to the individual students’ insurance.
“Our current counseling center staff members work with all of our students and their family members at any time. They do not bill insurance for the services they provide,” Tice wrote. “And because our counseling staff members provide an array of services to our students, no one knows exactly why a student is meeting with one of our certified counseling center staff.”
Fayetteville-Manlius has a 25-person counseling department across the district. There are 14 school counselors, six school psychologists as well as a district psychologist, and four family/school liaisons. In November, that team did a six-hour training session – three hours virtual and three hours in-person – on effective suicide prevention and response with the New York State Office of Mental Health.
Last year during mental health awareness month, all the students at the high school participated in a two-day workshop on suicide prevention where they learned techniques for talking with friends they might be concerned about and how to advocate for themselves if they are feeling suicidal thoughts.
Resources available
If you think you have depression, anxiety or another mental health condition, please seek the help of a professional. To find a therapist, contact your general practitioner or call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Treatment Referral Helpline, 1-877-SAMHSA7 (1-877-726-4727). In addition, the New York State Office of Mental Health (omh.ny.gov) can direct you to resources for children, teens, adults, perinatal mothers, seniors and veterans, as well as crisis assistance. You can also search by county.
If you are in crisis, call 911 or the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Crisis workers are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
