NJ high school fails ADA exam

From NorthJersey.com:

After a recent evaluation of West Milford High School, the township’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Committee is less than thrilled with the district’s progress in complying with federal accessibility laws.

Committee member Janice Sangle said that the 11-member group, which includes disabled residents and local officials, found dozens of examples of non-compliance that extend from issues of inconvenience to possible safety infringements, during a three-hour walkthrough on Aug. 26.

"I don’t think I can open one door in there," committee member and wheelchair user James Novack said. "It’s a definite problem."

Sangle, a wheelchair user who almost single-handedly revived the committee in 1996 after four years of dormancy, said she was disappointed with the lack of improvement in the building since the ADA committee last visited the high school as a group around one year ago. Problems with non-compliant curbs, doorways and restrooms are still prevalent in the 33-year-old building, 20 years after the ADA was enacted, she said.

Novack went a bit further, saying the district should be embarrassed at neglecting even simple violations that, if fixed, would go a long way toward compliance. Compliance is vital for not just the handful of high school students with permanent disabilities, but students and visitors with temporary ailments, like broken legs, as well, he said.

"I told [district officials], ‘I’m not picky. It’s the law,’" Novack said.

District Superintendent Bernice Colefield said the concerns are being taken seriously, but added that there are issues, mostly financial, with what the committee has been seeking.

"We are not ignoring them, but certain things are restricted," Colefield said.

The superintendent said the district makes every effort to accommodate visitors and students alike, but said finances are preventing immediate action on structural renovations. Still, she added that the district will respond to the committee’s concerns through a planning effort that will begin with an architectural review and a cost analysis for the possible upgrades.

Once the ADA committee submits an official list of possible violations, Colefield said the district will meet with township officials to compare the municipal code with ADA regulations and determine a prioritized action plan. Sangle, who has multiple sclerosis, said she hopes this effort will lead to the establishment of a high school that can be visited and utilized by people with all types of disabilities without special accommodations.

"The school system needs to prioritize just to be able to get people into the school," Sangle said.

The upgrades requested are exclusively physical, as the committee expressed no displeasure with the district’s educational operations. By no means minimizing the hazards that non-compliant doors pose, Colefield highlighted the district’s efforts when it comes to accommodating students as well as providing equal access and inclusive facilities.

Still, Sangle said the district should include more programs designed to educate students about disabilities. Maybe educating the community from the bottom up will help encourage ranking district officials to implement physical changes to the building itself, she said.

"I believe there really needs to be outreach, but not only to the Board of Education," Sangle said. "We really have to educate the community on ADA and about people with disabilities. This way, people would have a better idea of what a person with disabilities really encounters."

With or without an educational element, Novack said the physical violations issues need to be handled, and quickly. While having wheelchair accessible fountains now installed on both floors of the high school is a positive step, Novack said more should have been done in the last year.

After the committee’s visit, the district finished replacing parking signs and repainting parking stalls and is now working on improving the layout of the van-accessible parking spot near the front of the building.

Colefield said some projects are just unfeasible during the school year, due to tight scheduling restraints. However, she vowed to be watchful of the situation and have the district do what it can without much funding, like tightening railways, making doors easier to open, adjusting reach distances and improving the layout in the main office, which is a common complaint.

Other efforts, like enlarging stall spaces and bathroom doorways, in addition to being expensive, will take time, as they need to be assessed for their potential structural and financial impact, she said.

Still, the committee remains concerned about the timetable, and the district’s overall motivation, when it comes to making upgrades for the sake of ADA compliance. Novack said that none of the bathrooms, even those near the auditorium that were recently renovated, are currently in compliance, and the district gives him no confidence that they will be fixed soon. Compliant sinks, and the like, are only replaced when the previous version breaks, he said.

The problems at the high school not existing on their own in relation to the district’s operating budget also gives the committee reservations.

Novack said that the upgrades in the high school could cost around $250,000, adding that he fears the district may have five times the amount of violations lingering at the seven other schools in West Milford. The district’s budget does not currently include funding for significant ADA improvements, Colefield said.

The public is invited to share suggestions with the ADA committee during its meetings. Typically, the group meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 1 p.m. in town hall. Visit westmilford.org for specific meeting dates and times.