A short article (Sept. 8) describes the impending withdrawal of School District 54 from the Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization (NSSEO). Some reasons listed for the breakaway are that the district is “projecting a small savings” due to an “increase of $885,428 in its education fund.”
Nowhere does the article mention why the children involved will be better off. How do the parents of these children, who have had absolutely no voice in the matter, feel about District 54’s move for financial reasons?
Of the 28 students affected, 25 attend NSSEO’s Kirk School in Palatine. Their parents have chosen this school for their children, all of whom have moderate to profound disabilities. Kirk is uniquely equipped and its staff is committed to their very special needs. Next September, they will be uprooted from their friends and familiar surroundings and programs.
Time after time, when special education students are shuffled around, the public is dazzled by how much money will be saved. No one realizes how difficult such a transition is on most of the students. Some of the children are so mentally or physically fragile that any drastic change in their educational program poses a serious threat to their development.
