What school it will be in becomes point of contention
By Alex Johnson
Correspondent
The Burlington Area School District Board of Education has decided to move forward with a local special education program in lieu of sending the group of students to other schools in the Milwaukee area.
The nine special needs students range from the elementary age level into the high school level, with the prospective plan to house the program on the third level of Karcher Middle School in rooms that are currently not being used, according to Director of Special Education Kathy Merlo.
The School Board voted 4-2 to approve the program, with Board members Phil Ketterhagen and Taylor Wishau voting against.
Ketterhagen voiced concerns about the time the students need upon entering the building until the time they reach their classroom on the third floor and other areas in the school.
“It was discussed that maybe … there would be room over at the high school to where there would be first-floor level,” he said. There would be less challenge in moving the kids from the (front door) to their classroom and moving the kids from their classroom to lunch. They would be closer to the ground floor.”
Ketterhagen, who cited his experience of being married to a retired special education teacher of 30 years, said, “Listening to some of the stories that were told, I think it affects the major population of our students too much to just look for dollar savings. I feel heavily for these special needs kids because I know what’s involved from experience told, and I know (the program) is great for parents over the transportation and the distances.”
But, he said he ultimately voted against the measure due to the location of the program.
Previously, Merlo and her team brought the proposal to the Curriculum Committee, sharing that students traveling to special education programs in other towns results in long bus rides, both in the morning and the afternoon.
On the proximity to the rest of the school, Merlo said, “(The students) would come in the back door by room 1 and go up the elevator or back stairway so that we wouldn’t be entering the main entrance on the loop … and transitioning through the whole building. There would be more seclusion.”
With the new program in the Burlington School District, the district would save about $80,000 annually by not having to pay tuition to other schools while also cutting down transportation costs.
The program includes two full-time teachers, three full-time aides, an adapted physical education specialist, and one part-time custodian.
Merlo and her team said there would be a startup cost of about $53,000 for the first year to be used for remodeling and curriculum materials.
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