Need verses Want with ...

a side of 'can we afford the renovation plans.'  


   For those that do not know, there is a big vote coming up for renovations to two elementary schools and one high school here in Kennebunk. As we get closer the pressure to approve this plan gets stronger. I have been following a few threads on facebook posts and cannot believe the amount of pressure that is being put on people to vote yes. People getting told they have to see the schools to make an informed decision and posting pictures & videos of the schools. I find it interesting that all the pressure revolves around the conditions of the schools when everyone agrees the schools need repairs, upgrade & expansions. The problem lies in the cost of the proposed plan. Plain and simple, can our WHOLE community afford the plan, 'NO.'   One of the biggest problems in this country is debt, people buying what they cannot afford. This plan is a debt the community cannot afford because the renovation of the high school is too extravagant. From what I have read in some facebook posts school enrollment has gone down steadily over the past ten years and it is projected to continue going down. Add that people may have to move because they cannot afford the tax increase, we will be dealing with a cause and effect issue. People may have to move because they cannot afford the tax increase then local businesses may have to close because they have less customers. I know many are going to say that it will all work out and that we can all afford that extra $1 a day as some have put it. It may all work out and people may find the money to cover the tax increases but tax increases are not the only reason I will be voting no for the renovation plan.

  Before I explain the other reasons why I am voting no on the plan, I want people to know that I love Kennebunk Schools but the fact is that there are struggles in all school systems when you have a child with Autism. Sometimes those struggles are over simple services that if received at an early age means the child will need less services when they are older. For example, in fall of 2010 at Donald's 504 meeting I asked for Donald to get OT for handwriting as he was entering 4th grade and could not write. He was turned down for OT as they felt keyboarding was better for him to learn. Each year I asked for OT for handwriting but was turned down and he got extra keyboarding classes. This past fall I was told that they wanted Donald to use voice dictation as he still cannot type. I was livid about this because voice dictation would not change the fact that my son needs to learn how to write. After some debate it was approved that Donald would get OT to help him with cursive. Since during  4th, 5th & 6th grades Donald did not receive OT it will take longer for him to learn now.

   For Karl things have been different, Spring of 2012 I had to fight to keep Karl's Autism diagnosis. I was lead to believe that Karl's evaluations were to help mainstream him for 1st grade when the fact was that part of the evaluations were about his Autism Diagnosis. Comments were made at the meeting like "Karl shows no sign of Autism,"  of course he didn't, he was in a class of 7 with 3 teachers, it was not realistic, it was the perfect bubble. So the following Fall Karl was not prepared to be mainstreamed and his teacher had no idea how severe his Autism was. For a while Karl did well but by October he started to regress a lot. We had an emergency IEP meeting and created a plan to get him back on track. The following Spring I started to look around to see what would be available for Karl for the Summer as I knew he needed something to have continued Social interaction with his peers over the Summer to PREVENT regression for 2nd grade. From a School stand point he did not qualify for Extended School Year even though his teacher and school administrators agreed he needed something for continued social interaction. So I looked into Kennebunk Recreational Camp, the problem was that the 13:1 child to counselor ratio was not safe for Karl. The Rec program does not offer a 1:1 aid so I asked for a 4:1 ratio for Karl and other kids like him and was told "that is was not in the budget as they barely makes ends meet and if they did get more funds it would go to more field trip." Then the Town Manager stated in an email - " Students with disabilities are welcome but we need to ensure that there is not an undue burden for the program,........" I cried for a long time about that statement but then I gathered myself together, came up with a compromise and sent my plea to the Town Manager, School Superintendent, School Board & Town Councilman. Here is a link to that plea - http://redonautism.blogspot.com/2013/05/my-last-plea-to-town.html

  Karl having continued social interaction with his peers is very important for him. The more social interaction a child with Autism has the better his/her chances are of being independent as adults. I was hoping that the School Department & the Town could work together but I guess I was asking for the impossible. Since the Superintendent has a standard response of the ESY guidelines along with "A student's participation in the town's recreation program would not be considered part of the school's ESY services, nor is it part of the Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) standards set forth in statute.  Participation is purely a family decision,...."  A family decision???  If it were up to me, Karl would having fun at the beach everyday with his family but that is not what Karl needed, he needed to be with his peers. Then the town manager responded saying that we had to hire a 1:1 aid in order for Karl to attend camp even though Mr Tibbetts has NO understanding about Autism. (side note - not one board member or councilman could take the time to respond to my email)  You can read more about it here - http://redonautism.blogspot.com/2013/07/its-tough-being-left-out-isnt-it.html

   I am happy to say that getting Karl into Toddle Inn was a big help as Karl has not regressed this year which proves that in order for him to be successful in school he needs continuous social interaction throughout the Summer. I am not sure what he will do next Summer, Toddle Inn is an option but Karl really wants to wear the Kennebunk Blue Camp shirt and hang out with his friends at camp.

    I could give other examples of what I have gone through to get my sons services, acceptance and to be included but that would take a LONG time so I will sum it up a bit. Everything I do for my boys is to prepare them to be independent as adults. For that to happen, they need to have certain services like ST, OT, Social Skills help, for me to teach them basic life skills like cooking, cleaning, self care, etc but the most important thing is that they need to be a part of a community. In some ways that are accepted by our community but in other ways they are not. While kids are polite to Donald at school, he does not have any friends outside of school. He didn't even feel comfortable enough to go on a school camping trip as he was afraid of a false sense of friendships. In the past couple of years he has been bullied out of  town rec basketball and town rec baseball programs. Add the fact that the town excluded Karl from camp makes me very nervous. What is worse is that so many sat back and allow it to happen then say I am too negative because I speak up. Sorry but change does not happen by people being bystanders.

  Now I am sure you are wondering what the above has to do with the vote, it has everything to do with the vote. If I and other parents are struggling to get basic services now, what is going to happen in the next few years??  While school enrollments may be down, those with Autism being enrolled in schools are up as 1 in 88 have Autism. Down the road more children with Autism will need services but the budgets will not be growing with the needs because tax payers were maxed out by this over the top renovation plan this year.

  It comes down to what is needed verses what is wanted with a side of 'can we afford the renovation plans."

This is how I see it, our schools need repairs, upgrades and expansions but many want the State of Art High School that the community CANNOT afford. My suggestion is that the school department comes up with an affordable proposal for what is NEEDED and WHEN the economy is better we can add in the extras.