Cities will be asked to bid on special ed facility
Staff reporter
A consultant for Marion County Special Education Cooperative cut straight to the chase June 20 while discussing building options.
Dr. Kent Stewart of Manhattan was hired by the cooperative to conduct a feasibility study to address the educational needs of the nearly 600 students served by the cooperative.
At this point, Stewart has determined there are basically three cities within the county that could meet those needs — Hillsboro, Marion, and Peabody.
Stewart suggested, and the board agreed, that letters should be sent to those city councils to ask about economic development incentives available to the cooperative should all or part of the special education facilities be moved to those communities.
Cities could consider providing land, a building, utilities, or other incentives to the district. Stewart said the City of Manhattan has an economic development fund that was used for business development and wondered if other cities or entities have similar access to development money.
He also expressed his concern about pitting one community against the other in the race to capture the program.
Before discussion and making decisions regarding the letters and the most viable location for the cooperative, board members voiced concerns about the absence of the Marion-Florence board representative, Lyle Leppke. Members said they didn't want communication issues between the cooperative board and USD 408 because the district wasn't represented at monthly meetings.
Representatives from the other four school districts were in attendance at the noon meeting.
Cooperative director Chris Cezar was instructed to send a letter to USD 408 Superintendent Lee Leiker regarding their concerns and frustrations.
The board then returned to the subject at hand and discussed the possibility of services being split. CLASS could be in one location, OASIS in another, and the administration building in a third. However, Richard Drake, cooperative board chairman and representative of USD 411 Goessel, said having the administrative staff separated from the programs would cause problems.
Cezar said if the programs are split and operated separately from the location of the administration building, there would be more pressure for guidance and supervision by local administrators, but it was "do-able."
"We can separate the two programs," Cezar said, "but it would be harder to manage."
He added it would not be feasible to split the OASIS program.
Centre representative Clark Davis recalled the time when the cooperative was located in the Marion district.
"The responsibility was thrown on the administrator at the school," Davis recalled.
Doe Ann Hague, representative of USD 398 Peabody-Burns, said in her opinion the cooperative needed to be located near schools if students are to be integrated back to their regular class rooms, particularly those in OASIS.
She reiterated that this discussion and decision will not be based on facilities.
"For me, personally, it's educational opportunities, not the facilities," Hague said.
Davis said he had always considered the former AMPI building in Hillsboro as a good location for a special education facility but knows there are some structural problems that need to be addressed.
Deb Geis, representative of USD 410, asked when students are integrated back into the regular classroom, would it influence where the student would be placed if the facility was located on a school campus?
Cezar responded that each case was considered individually because sometimes it is in the best interest of the student to return him/her to the home district, other times it is not.
"If you're truly working for the child, it needs to be for the child's benefit," Hague said.
Another misconception is that the school district where the OASIS program is located could end up integrating all of the problem students but Cezar said that won't happen because students are not returned to the regular classroom until they're ready.
Davis said it comes down to dollars and cents and what the districts can afford.
Board members made these suggestions:
* Hague said the school needed to be located near an existing school facility to share lunchrooms and libraries, which would eliminate Florence from being considered. However, the board discussed the possibility of leaving the administration building in Florence and moving the two programs to different cities.
Hague said she thinks the CLASS program, which provides services to handicapped students, would be best served in Marion since there will be an indoor swimming pool available. Currently class members travel to El Dorado for water recreation.
* Preferred a location in communities with medical services available since some special needs students could be in need of medical care. Wiebe said Hillsboro and Marion had hospitals but Hague pointed out that Peabody has a full-time doctor available.
Stewart suggested the letter instruct the three cities to present economic development incentives for the project which could include financial assistance with acquiring or constructing a building, utilities, etc. The best incentive package would be given the opportunity to have the program in their community.
Stewart took a tour of the Florence facilities April 12 and also looked at facilities in Hillsboro and talked with superintendent Gordon Mohn. On May 9, the consultant met with the five superintendents within the county and discussed the special needs of students, finances, and maintenance.
A study that was completed in 1997, didn't indicate a need for changes, Stewart said, but other factors did.
Changes apparently were needed to accommodate the educational requirements of children with special needs, meet new teaching requirements, and because of a significant increase in lease payment. Stewart added the amount of the lease was in line with the space being rented.
The cooperative does not have the power to propose bonds to purchase or improve property.
Concerns expressed by Stewart were annual cost, location of facility, if it did move from Florence, the impact it would have on the community, the impact of having two new cooperative board members, andthe impact of having three new superintendents in the county.
The letter will be signed by Stewart, who will serve as a "neutral" party during this process.
Davis suggested cities consider applying for grants that could assist with the development. He also wondered if the City of Florence could qualify for a grant to help with the upkeep of the facility.
Previously USD 408 had asked the City of Florence to consider the purchase of the two classroom facilities, which included the gymnasium building. The city then would receive lease payments from the cooperative and would be responsible for maintenance and general upkeep of the facility. USD 408 would maintain ownership and responsibility of the administration building.
Davis wondered if the city did own the facilities if it would be cost prohibitive to maintain.
Communities need to respond to Stewart within 90 days of the receipt of the letter. Cities may provide a conceptual proposal with approval of the proposal at a later date.
Board members also asked Stewart to assist with a time line for the process of determining the most feasible way to educate students with special needs and help the board achieve its goals.
"We're backtracking over some of the things we've already done," Hague said.
"It moves the focus back on education," Geis said.
