KEEPING A SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF IN SCRANTON

I have never wavered from my effort to find a lasting and permanent way for deaf and hard-of hearing students to continue receiving a quality education right here in Scranton.

That has been my priority. And that remains my priority.

Several local legislators and I have left no stone unturned in evaluating alternatives and exploring all options to meet the needs of students.  After all, the students are the ones who would suffer the most from the school’s scheduled closure on July 1.  Without the kind of long-term solution we are currently working on to keep the facility operating, the school would indeed be closed and students dispersed to various intermediate units or dispatched to other areas of the state.

In order to save the school, various parties have come together to carefully lay out a workable-plan offering a smooth transition while striving for educational excellence at the school.

Unfortunately, some media reports on the progress of the proposal to keep the school open have been inaccurate, based only on fragments of information and reliant on incomplete plans from uninformed sources.  Clearly some, who should know better, are trying to score public relations points rather than confront this very critical and complex challenge in a meaningful way.

While I understand that students, parents and faculty members are eager for a solution so they can make definitive plans for next year, it would have been unwise to hastily implement a plan or irresponsibly report on delicate and unfinished negotiations.

That’s why I have worked closely with Gov. Ed Rendell, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, fellow lawmakers and school officials over the last few months to shift the school away from being state-run to privately owned and operated. All of this would be accomplished while maintaining the mission to “enable and empower each enrolled student to reach his or her full potential.”

To reach that goal, we’ve worked on identifying alternatives to ensure that a quality education program for deaf and hard-of-hearing students is maintained in northeastern Pennsylvania on a permanent basis. I’ve talked to experts and administrators in the field, visited other facilities and discussed issues that range from the quality of education to the financial means to assure continuity.

It is important to note that keeping this state-run school open indefinitely was not a viable option, and would have been nearly impossible to fund in this budget year where state lawmakers are struggling to find ways to make up an estimated $3 billion budget deficit. Even with some temporary reprieve, there would certainly be no guarantee that the school would survive the next time the Department of Education was tasked with making budget cuts. I am not willing to risk the future of these children and this century-old facility on band-aid reprieves. Too much is at stake.

We’ve tried to work on a reasonable and rational transition plan that may, at the end of the day, offer tremendous opportunities and new resources for students to learn and grow.  Yet, we have more work to do and precious little time to make decisions.

This three-year phased transition plan that is now being discussed will permanently save a school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in northeastern Pennsylvania, keep the school in Scranton and tap other resources while providing even better opportunities for deaf and hard-of-hearing students to reach their full potential.

Finally, I want to reiterate to the parents of the Scranton State School for the Deaf that their children’s education has always been my priority and will continue to be as we work toward a long-term, long-lasting solution.

Sen. Robert J. Mellow (D) is the Senate Democratic Leader. He represents Lackawanna County and portions of Luzerne and Monroe counties.