NJ parents protest closing of special needs schools

From The Jersey Journal:

SECAUCUS, N. J. - April 7's cold winds didn't deter about 50 students, teachers and parents from letting their voices be heard along the usually quiet Mill Ridge Road.

"Save our school!" they chanted in protest of Gov. Jon Corzine's notice to shut down all 18 special-needs Department of Children and Family (DCF) Regional Schools due to a decline in enrollment and an effort to cut costs.

Children with physical, developmental and behavioral disabilities attend the regional schools, as well as students who have been involved in the judicial system.

Five facilities will close this June and the remaining 13 will be closed on a rolling schedule through July 2010, said DCF spokeswoman Kate Bernyk. No date has been set for the closing of the Secaucus facility.

Principal Donna Morse of the regional school in Secaucus received news of the closures two weeks ago from the state Department of Education.

"We're expecting the schools to shut down month by month," said Morse. "We're just waiting for the phone call to say when it's our turn."

Esther Figueroa, a mother of a non-verbal 21-year-old man with cerebral palsy, was in tears as she spoke about the decision to shut the school.

"We've been here for 16 years. Children like my son need these schools - they get the individualized attention that they deserve, that they can't get in regular public schools," Figueroa said.

"They have to keep these schools open and find proper funding. They just need to."

Figueroa will be sending her son to the United Cerebral Palsy of Hudson County in Bayonne if the Secaucus school closes.

The DCF schools have seen enrollment drop from 1,200 in 2002 to less than 900 this school year, Bernyk said.

The Secaucus school has been in operation for 30 years and has about 40 students, Morse said. Districts pay the cost of local students who attend DCF schools, and many districts are creating their own in-district programs to accommodate these students for less money, officials said. Bernyk said the state will do all it can to place students in schools.

Some private companies might purchase the regional schools, she said, noting some staff members could be out of work.

"It's a real shock. I don't understand," said Maureen Williamson, a teacher who has been at the Secaucus regional school since its opened. "We're hoping for a miracle."