PETITION TO MAINTAIN the IOWA BRAILLE AND SIGHT SAVING SCHOOL CAMPUS.
WE, the undersigned urge the Regents and the Feasibility Study and Planning Committee to maintain the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School campus and related facilities in Vinton so that it will continue to provide nationally recognized services for blind and visually impaired Iowa students. Closing the campus will neither be the students’ best interest nor cost effective.
We understand that the regents are looking at potential improvement in the delivery of services and cost in savings for blind, visually impaired, deaf and hearing impaired students through either consolidation of services and the use of regional outreach centers. We think the facts show that under either a regional outreach model or other extension of services it would be advantageous to use the existing expertise, facilities and systems already in existence at IBSSS.
In a regional outreach model, IBSSS has already established itself as a responsive provider of services and expertise through its partnerships with local Area Education Associations (AEAs) in delivering quality blind and visually impaired education. Indeed many of the more rural AEAs have found it extremely difficult to maintain the appropriate blind and visually impaired staffing. In such situations the use of IBSSS staff to fill the gaps in AEA manning around the state have been more cost efficient.
In a regional outreach model, it would be advantageous to maintain a centralized repository of blind and visually impaired services and expertise that are not permanently required at the regional sites. IBSSS is within an hour drive from both the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa. This has allowed IBSSS to aide these institutions in preparing future Iowa educators of the blind and visually impaired. IBSSS is also actively engaged with the area community colleges in developing other specialized training for those who want to work in the field of blind and visually impaired services. IBSSS works with U of I hospitals, which is within an hour’s drive of IBSSS, on the medical and rehabilitative needs of the blind and visually impaired students. As IBSSS has already put together excellent experts, services and facilities and it should be allowed to continue its long tradition of providing excellent services to the blind and visually impaired services.
Additionally the IBSSS campus would function well as a regional center. As a former residential educational institution it still maintains all the necessary facilities to aid the blind and visually impaired students in becoming self sufficient in the world. It already uses its dormitories for summer workshops for blind and visually impaired students. Indeed some of these dormitories are contracted for by AmeriCorps (NCCC) and FEMA and to house their volunteers – contracts which currently pay for a majority of the facility upkeep. The contract covers only 63% of the facility. Finally, the eastern Iowa campus of IBSSS is within an hour’s drive from three of Iowa’s major metro areas and within 100 miles of an overwhelming majority of eastern Iowa’s population.
We do not believe it would be cost effective to consolidate educational services for blind and visually-impaired with deaf and hearing impaired on one campus. However, if the economics support this option, IBSSS is a more population based central location facility than Council Bluffs. It would also appear to be more cost effective to renovate blind and visually impaired residential facilities for deaf and hearing impaired students than vice a versa. It would certainly be more cost effective to renovate the IBSSS campus than to create a whole new campus in the geographic center of the state.
Again the people of Iowa are best served by continuing the use of the investments they have already made in IBSSS. Thank you for your consideration.
Shirale Hanson / Meredith ZuspannDarlene Struve / Kenneth E. Struve
Lori Miracle / Maria Davis
Don Rouse / Tracy Davis
Rich Miracle / Sharon Brown
Lee Brown / Lisa Thompson
Jim Thompson / Thomas Ohrt
Jerry Staab / Nate Edwards
Colleen Karnick / Nancy Long
Shirley Wiley / Ross Wiley
Kelsey Kimm / Scott A Schlarbaum
Sherri McGowan / Todd A. Rosonke
Carolyn J. Kearns / Chelsea J. Hessenius
Julie A. Hessenius / Ron Hessenius
Heather Kearns / Dan Kearns
Nicole Gaule / Tina Westcott
Connie Peterson / Jane Schminke
Lynn Montgomery / Kathleen Van Steenhuyse
Janet Woodhouse / Gwen Eells
Kathryn R. Mossman / Linda Fischer
Jessica Levy / Larry W. Yeaser
Jon Clingman / Susan Hammond
Phil Borleske / Larry Thiher
Duane Holtz / John A. Buhr
David C. Butts / Robert C. Beyer
Jean Peterson / Carol Timmer
Connie Ogier / Dorothy Albert
Elizabeth Hadley / Geraldine J. Davis
Duanne D. Schmidt / Carol Pickart
Jane LaGrange / Jennifer Redlinger
Lela M. Campbell / Sandra Cronbaugh
Frank Van Steenhuyse / Duane M. fisher
Nancy Beckman / Mary Jo Hainstock
Brenda Hackbarth / Meg Walker
Dale K. Schmidt / Susan Lent
George Bauer / Nancy Baldwin
Nathan Hesson / Ashley Hesson
Andrew J. Lent / Mark Redlinger
Brad Shaw / Jorgie Bendull
Tyler Karrick / Heather Richter
Bryan Edwards / Lori Campbell
Cheryl Jorgensen / Debra Mather
Stacy Miller / Donna L. Relf
Rick Vettraino / Jon Kremer
Richard Hainstock / Cheryl McLaughlin
Melissa Jackson / Julie Lissy
Marlyn Jorgensen / Steve Wallace
Kimmit Renken / Tenny Jertson
Mark C Urlaub / Dell Hanson
Harold E. Cassens / Larry Nudd
Tim Jorgensen / Chris Jorgensen
Joyce Winsor / Nellic Cobb
John Yundt / Robin Martin
Becky Moen / Danise D. Shannon
Brett Whitson / Joyce Schlarbaum
Roger Schlarbaum / Judy Wright
Kirk Strang / Keith A. Ervin
Kelly Banghart / JoAnn Schmidt
Ranae Becker / Lisa Murray