Alumni, parents, friends and supporters of the North Carolina School for the Deaf came out Friday morning to share their stories and thoughts on the possibility of the school's closing due to state budgeting concerns.
The State Employees Association of North Carolina hosted the open forum at Western Piedmont Community College to hear concerns from the community about the NC Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Education Services talks of closing or consolidating the three blind and deaf schools in Morganton, Raleigh and Wilson.
Ardis Watkins, SEANC legislative affairs director, said the blind and deaf schools now seem to be "perpetually under attack."
SEANC got involved in January when members' who worked at the three residential schools said their work hours had been cut to 32 hours a week.
The reduction included cutting the Sunday evening shift, resulting in the buses running on Monday morning to pick up school children.
Some students ride the bus for three or four hours, Watkins said. And that wasn't SEANC's only concern.
"It's the fact that these kids are getting 20 percent less education each week," Watkins said.
Safety has become an issue, too, Rudy Croom, an employee at the Eastern NCSD, said.
For the first time in 22 years, there was a bus accident, Croom said. He expressed concerns that the early and long bus rides are not safe for either the students or the drivers.
SEANC president Tony Smith said NCSD is "near and dear" to his heart because he grew up in Morganton.
"This community has to get behind what we're doing," Smith said. "I know we've got a fight ahead of us and folks we're going to take it to them."
NC House Rep. Hugh Blackwell and Mitch Gillespie, along with former Rep. Walt Church Sr., NC House District 86 candidate Walt Church Jr. and NC Senate District 44 candidate Warren Daniel were in attendance.
Blackwell told the audience that during passing of the state budget, he was among the deaf schools' supporters. A provision to study the effectiveness of the deaf schools was left out of the budget.
Blackwell blamed the "arrogance in the bureaucracy in Raleigh."
He further stated that through the years the legislature has "intentionally engaged" in policies that reduce the number of students attending the specialized schools.
Gillespie said the battle to keep the schools open would be a long one because the long-term plans of the legislature is to close ENCSD and NCSD in Morganton. His solution is to strengthen the deaf students bill of rights.
Most importantly, Gillespie said, he needs to hear from parents of current students.
Brenda Patton said her son Jared graduated from NCSD and is now working on obtaining a master's degree from the University of Oregon.
Patton credited NCSD with helping Jared build his developmental skills.
The school offered her son support, friendship and a community that isn't readily available at a mainstream or public school, Patton said.
"I can't say how important this school is," Patton said.
Anne Aldredge, whose brother was deaf and attended NCSD, said all she'd wanted to do was to teach deaf students. She's retired now, but spoke about her time as a teacher.
Aldredge said deaf children need specialized education.
"It's so very important that our children not miss any class time," Aldredge said. "That they not miss the opportunity to communicate with others… Language is so important."
That point was emphasized numerous times throughout the open forum as speakers pointed to communication as a vital skill NCSD helps students develop. Other common topics included the tight-knit community the school fosters and specialized education.
Carol Brooks, a graduate of NCSD, said, "Being around all the other deaf students, it made us happy."
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