[Nfbofnc] NFB of NC Position on Closing GMS

[Lusi98]

Great Job!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gary H. Ray" <ghraynfbofnc at charter.net>
To: "nfbofnc" <nfbofnc at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 1:13 PM
Subject: [Nfbofnc] NFB of NC Position on Closing GMS


> Fellow Federationists:
>
> Inserted below and attached, you will find the NFB of NC position on the
> consolidation of the deaf and blind residential schools in North Carolina.
> Use this to frame all of your comments on the matter if you would.
>
> Please spread this position and enlist all to work with us to defeat this
> Special Provision.
>
> I posted the wording of the Special Provision last night, so you should
> already know what this is about.
>
> We need to barrage the members of the House Appropriations Committee with
> our howls of outrage about this proposal.
>
> I will post the info on the members of the House Appropriations Committee 
> to
> my next email.
>
> Salute!
>
> Gary Ray
> President
>
> *********
> National Federation of the Blind of North Carolina
> 18 Sandon Drive
> Asheville, NC  28804
> (828) 505-0299
> Gary Ray, President
>
> June 2009
>
> Protect the Quality of Separate Education Services for the Blind and
> Visually impaired of North Carolina
>
> The National Federation of the Blind of North Carolina (consisting of ten
> chapters and 600 members) strongly opposes the consolidation of the
> residential schools for the deaf and the blind. The consolidation of
> residential schools for the deaf and blind is not a practical educational
> model and there is reason to question the actual savings that would be
> realized.
>
> 1. The school for the deaf and the school for the blind serve two totally
> different populations.  These populations have very different needs and
> require different approaches and infrastructure that are not conducive to
> consolidation. For example, communication for the deaf is primarily 
> through
> vision and for the blind it is through hearing. This would create a huge
> barrier for communication between two groups that would have to co-exist 
> on
> a single campus.
>
> 2. Consolidation would dilute services and force the two population groups
> to compete for limited resources on the same campus.  This competition 
> could
> become a deterrent to a healthy educational environment.
>
> 3. The specialized techniques and methods of teaching are quite different
> for the deaf and the blind. The blind receive information through touch 
> and
> hearing, while the deaf receive much of what they learn through 
> observation
> and sign language.
>
> 4. The Governor Morehead School campus is well suited to the education of
> the blind. Presently it offers educational services to preschoolers and
> adults. Its infrastructure was designed to serve the blind.
>
> 5. There are many auxiliary services on and near the GMS campus that equip
> Governor Morehead as a center to educate and train blind students.
>
> 6. In Raleigh there is the capability to utilize urban mobility lessons 
> and
> other educational opportunities, e.g., university travel, Rehab Center for
> the Blind, tall buildings for elevator/escalator travel, well-developed 
> bus
> system, taxi system and urban living skills.
>
> 7. The Governor Morehead School is centrally located and accessible to 
> blind
> students across the state.
>
> 8. Consolidation is proposed as a money saving measure. We question the
> actual long-term savings that some say might be realized from forced
> consolidation. Until the details are disclosed, no one can accurately or
> reliably evaluate the situation.   Such an evaluation would require time 
> to
> put together a plan that involves parents, professionals and consumers.
> Without such a plan we only have a projection or a guess about how much
> actual money might be saved. Any assessment would surely need to account 
> for
> the impact on the students, parents and professionals.
>
> Honesty demands that we acknowledge that deaf and blind students occupying
> the same campus is not true consolidation or merger. These young children
> should not be the ones to pay such an extreme price for the economic
> difficulties we face.
>
> The National Federation of the Blind of North Carolina will not quietly
> accept a plan that has no facts relative to the way "consolidation" would 
> be
> accomplished. What other segment of the population is being asked to give 
> up
> such a huge portion of its state budget???  There is no justification to
> disproportionately balance the state budget at the expense of these young
> deaf and blind children.
>
> We say the only reasonable and fair approach is to reject consolidation.
>
>


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