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A Note On The LEEP Closing
This is an email I sent to my Special Ed PTO members. I hope this clears up any confusion some of the media reports caused. (Yes I'm talking about you CHANNEL 5.) Most of the time I use this list to write about the Special Ed PTO meetings. But tonite I wanted to give you some news from the Board of Education. Some of the less exciting aspects of the Board of Ed are things like audits. Believe it or not the district has an internal and external auditor to make sure every dollar is spent where it should be. Over the last year our internal auditor has been looking at the LEEP program because of the expense of the program. In his presentation last week he told the board that we are spending money from the General fund to support this pre-school program. The State of NY’s constitution does not allow districts to spend tax dollars to support pre-school programs. District funds are to be used to educate students 5-21 years old. Many districts across the state have ended pre-school programs because of this rule. Liverpool is one of the remaining districts that still had a pre-school program. I spoke passionately about the program because I am a LEEP parent. Taylor was educated there when he was three years old by a teacher who is still with the program. I spoke about the difference that education made not only in Taylor’s life but in my life as well. He was welcomed there and after being turned away by so many places, it felt like home to me. But it was clear to our auditor and our lawyer that funding this program was against the law and that the program should not be funded in 2008-09. If the Board kept the program running, it would be a violation and quite possibly incur the wrath of the State Education Department. The Board had to listen to the advice of our lawyer. So with heavy hearts we are going to close LEEP, as it exists, at the end of the year. Our Special Ed Director and Superintendent are working hard with existing programs to place the three year olds who will be displaced. I have made calls myself and can assure you there are openings at other programs in Onondaga County. Keep in mind LEEP was no longer educating children like Taylor who has autism. The children with higher level needs were being placed at other programs that specialized in working with children who required skilled one to one aides to keep them on task. So what are we going to do next? The state needs to hear from parents and our district officials that their ruling has been detrimental to this program. Jan Matousek and Mary Conroy have met with state leaders to ask about funding and changes in the current rules. The State needs to know we are passionate about early intervention and all studies show that pre-school point the way to later success in school and in life. We need the help of parents who have come before and parents who need a program like this. Our next Special Ed PTO meeting is at the District offices on April 2nd. We need to put our voices together and let the state know that we are passionate about inclusive early education. The State needs to hear your voices and the voices of all of the parents that need a program like this. It will make a difference! Thanks for listening. I look forward to seeing you on April 2nd. Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead Liverpool Special Ed PTO ADDITIONAL INFO: We are working with our state legislators to work on another type of inclusive pre-school scenario. We need funding and a waver if we need to dip into the general fund. (Doing that is against the law.) Our Superintendent, our Director of Special Ed and I are all passionate about keeping something going. Let’s hope the state acts quickly with a new governor in place. The regulation in question is Article VIII, Section 1 of the state constitution. It says that support of a preschool program from the general fund would constitute an impermissible use of public funds. It may also be an improper retention of unexpected surplus funds that should be used to reduce the tax levy. Other lawyers across the state have written opinion letters stating that school districts can not use general fund monies to support pre-school programs. That is why so many schools have gotten out of pre-school programs across the state. |