Montgomery County politicians, school board members and nonprofit leaders huddled around an oversized check for $9 million.

“Pay to the order of: The students of Montgomery County,” it read.

County officials gathered Monday at Quince Orchard High School to celebrate this infusion of state grant funds, money earmarked for programs that address anxiety and other mental health issues spiking among young people.

“A student who is worried about housing, a student who is worried about food, a student who is worried about their immigration status and whether ICE is going to come … is not a student who is ready to learn,” Maryland Sen. Cheryl Kagan, D-Montgomery County, said.

“They need our support. They need mental healthcare.”

The money flows through the Maryland Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports, which funds programs that work with schools. Organizations serving Montgomery County will use the grant money to provide children in pre-K through high school access to grief counseling, family therapy, after-school programs and other services.

State leaders expect the grant funds to help serve more than 5,500 students.

Montgomery County Public Schools superintendent Thomas Taylor praised the “village” it takes to bring mental health services to the county’s students.

“We can’t do it by ourselves,” he said. “That’s just the reality.”