Special education concerns mitigated

By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

A recent mid-year budget report announced district-wide savings of more than $250,000 in special education, raising red flags with parents throughout Carbon County School District 1.

When school board member Juli Miller heard those figures, she immediately linked them with the scattered gripes from parents relating to the district’s special education program.
At a meeting held last week, Robin Phillips, a parent of a Down syndrome child in Rawlins, initiated conversation about the schools’ and the community’s role in the lives of the disabled.

There, District 1 Special Education Director Marilyn Addington explained the district’s financial report. “The costs for special education are not fluid because we can’t anticipate them,” she said. Several special education students left the district this year, causing the drop in expenditures.

Phillips’ primary concern is getting a one-on-one aid who would help her son work in regular classrooms despite his disability. For the majority of this school year, she has been unable to secure that aid, though it’s unclear whether that’s due to personnel shortages or district decisions.

According to Addington, Phillips’ appeal is not an unusual one. Parents are often involved in making decisions for their disabled children in the schools, however, they can be overruled. A committee is assigned to form individualized programs for a disabled child’s education. If a parent’s request does not suit the committee’s decision, the committee makes alternate plans.

After Addington’s explanation at last week’s meeting, opinions of the district and its approach to special education became increasingly positive. The group focused instead on problems with getting state assistance for their children. With another meeting scheduled for early April, the discussions are far from over and may continue to include school district issues.

At Wednesday’s school planning meeting for the new Highland Hills elementary complex, project representative Brad Oberg expressed concern for the amount of space requested for special education facilities. He said it was less than he has seen for other schools.

Though the proposed new space is larger than existing ones, Oberg asked, “Do you have fewer programs because of limited space or do you have fewer programs simply because you don’t need them?” He pointed out that a new facility might provide the space for more programs and advised officials to take a careful look at their needs before making design conclusions.

“(Those plans) are something we ought to consider,” Miller said. “And if there are parent concerns (with the district), I’d like to hear what they are and if there are any proposed solutions.”