IRON MOUNTAIN — Officials for Dickinson and Iron counties agreed to move forward with hiring a health educator for their joint health department who would work with area youth on substance abuse and violence prevention.

The Dickinson and Iron county boards had a joint meeting Wednesday to continue discussions on having a dedicated staff member employed through the Dickinson-Iron District Health Department who could teach the Botvin LifeSkills Training program for grades six through nine in area schools.

The position would be paid with settlement funds from various lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies. The full-time health educator would cost $61,140 to $78,427 per year, depending on qualifications. The DIDHD has a part-time educator who soon plans to retire.

While neither board wanted to dip too far into opioid fund balances, Dickinson offered to pay $55,000 per year to Iron County’s $23,000. Board members all agreed the position was worth adding.

“I am always looking at dollars, but more than that, I am looking at services we need,” Dickinson County Commissioner Joseph Stevens said.

“Yes, we would like to have the fund balance hang around for a long time, but worst-case scenario, we have to pull a little bit extra until we see what the other settlements are,” Iron County Board Chair Mark Stauber said.

The proposed hiring will now be taken back to the individual boards for approval, with the Dickinson County Board meeting Monday and Iron County Board the following day.

Communities are receiving different settlement amounts per capita, depending on a formula the state developed to measure vulnerability to the opioid crisis.

Dickinson County’s share is roughly estimated at nearly $1.7 million, while Iron County’s estimated amount is $740,000, according to the Michigan Association of Counties’ online Opioid Settlement Resource Center.

The majority of funds received from the opioid settlements must be spent on opioid remediation, which is designed to address the misuse and abuse of opioid products; treat or mitigate opioid use or related disorders; and mitigate other alleged effects of the opioid epidemic.

Dickinson County already commits $10,000 annually in opioid funds for a program at the jail. Iron County reported a $20,000 per year commitment for inmate counseling.

At a Nov. 20 joint board meeting, officials agreed the cost of the health educator position would be split either by a two-thirds to one-third ratio or by the number of schools that would receive services in each county.

Dickinson County has four public school districts — Iron Mountain, Breitung Township, Norway-Vulcan and North Dickinson County in Felch Township — while Iron County has two, Forest Park in Crystal Falls and West Iron County in Iron River.