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2 Camden programs axed
Two programs for the city's special needs students will not be held this summer, leaving hundreds without educational and recreational activities.
The most significant cut is the 12-year-old Special Olympics program, where hundreds of special needs and general education students came together for four weeks of training and a culminating communitywide event.
"There's nothing in the budget for it this year and there was nothing last year, but they spent it anyway," Interim Superintendent JoAnn Manning said.
She said the district's finances are in such disarray that the district repeatedly spent money it didn't have. Facing a $9.5 million deficit, the district is set to send a budget to the state today that calls for significant cuts next school year, including teacher layoffs.
Said school board president Sara Davis: "The state has demanded flat budget and it has hurt."
The school board eliminated the Special Olympics program this week after a funding source for the $26,000 needed to staff it could not be found, district spokesman Bart Leff said.
"All this money Camden has, and they don't have money for the kids?" asked Nachetta Domenices, whose two children, both learning disabled, planned to be in the Special Olympics. "If you have stuff for the kids to do, the kids won't be out there on the corners. But people don't look at it like that."
Also slated to be discontinued this summer are classes for five deaf children at the New Jersey School for the Deaf in Trenton, despite a recommendation from a school administrator that summer classes are "critical" to their education. The district will save $10,000, plus transportation costs.
"It's sad because there's nothing to do here in Camden -- for the deaf or any of them," said Debbie Pollitt, a lifelong Camden resident whose grandson, Eddie, was supposed to attend the School for the Deaf program. "And they wonder why the kids are always getting in trouble -- they have nothing to do!"
Summer attendance at the School for the Deaf was not in the Individualized Education Plans developed for those special education students, Leff said.
"If it's not in their IEP, it's not going to be funded," Leff said.
Even though Manning said she was not familiar with this particular case, she said the district has underfunded special education out-of-district placements. Still, she said, this matter was not budget-related.
But Linda Hayward, the director of teaching and learning at the School for the Deaf, said participation in the program was recommended and the district didn't approve it. She said in the past, the district has put the program in students' IEPs and funded it.
During this year's IEP meetings, "we presented information about the summer program and the district said it sounded good," Hayward said.
The district representative at the IEP meeting wasn't authorized to approve the program, however, and no one from the district called back to approve the recommendation, Hayward said.
"Special education children even more than regular children tend to lose some of what they learned over the summer," Hayward said.
That same concern resonates with parents of the deaf children who are worried that they will lose sign language skills.
"I work full time, so he's going to be home by himself on the computer or playing games, and I wanted more for him," said Arncy Pollitt, Eddie's mother.
The district pays for Eddie, a 15-year-old freshman, to attend the school during the year. He lives there from Monday through Friday, and this past year he won the best artist award for the eighth grade.
Eddie is nonverbal, but when asked through a written note how he felt about the six-week summer program cancellation, he seemed surprised. His mother said even though she keeps telling him it's not happening, he still thinks he's leaving July 9.
The Special Olympics Unified Summer Program, which was scheduled to start Monday, began in 1995.
As many as 300 students, half classified as special needs, practiced sports each morning in July before a culminating competition with awards, giveaways, radio station sponsorships, barbecued food and hugs from community members.
"I thought the program was very successful, it gave the children experiences that they normally wouldn't have," said William Wagner, who was one of eight teachers hired for the program.
Wagner, who is now looking for another summer job to support his four children, said $26,144 for the program is "not very much in the scope of things and what (the district) spends their money on."
"I would like to have the numbers for the trips that the board members went on to see what the comparison would be," he said.
Gary Poe, another teacher, said there is no "first place" in the program.
"When it comes to running, jumping and kicking a ball, those kids are just as talented as everybody else," he said. "And they're young enough that if they can do well at that age level, it gives them confidence."
Meanwhile, the president of Special Olympics New Jersey, Marc Edenzon, said he'd be willing to work with the district to help restart the program. Camden's Special Olympics has not been affiliated with the official Special Olympics in recent years.
Two programs for the city's special needs students will not be held this summer, leaving hundreds without educational and recreational activities.
The most significant cut is the 12-year-old Special Olympics program, where hundreds of special needs and general education students came together for four weeks of training and a culminating communitywide event.
"There's nothing in the budget for it this year and there was nothing last year, but they spent it anyway," Interim Superintendent JoAnn Manning said.
She said the district's finances are in such disarray that the district repeatedly spent money it didn't have. Facing a $9.5 million deficit, the district is set to send a budget to the state today that calls for significant cuts next school year, including teacher layoffs.
Said school board president Sara Davis: "The state has demanded flat budget and it has hurt."
The school board eliminated the Special Olympics program this week after a funding source for the $26,000 needed to staff it could not be found, district spokesman Bart Leff said.
"All this money Camden has, and they don't have money for the kids?" asked Nachetta Domenices, whose two children, both learning disabled, planned to be in the Special Olympics. "If you have stuff for the kids to do, the kids won't be out there on the corners. But people don't look at it like that."
Also slated to be discontinued this summer are classes for five deaf children at the New Jersey School for the Deaf in Trenton, despite a recommendation from a school administrator that summer classes are "critical" to their education. The district will save $10,000, plus transportation costs.
"It's sad because there's nothing to do here in Camden -- for the deaf or any of them," said Debbie Pollitt, a lifelong Camden resident whose grandson, Eddie, was supposed to attend the School for the Deaf program. "And they wonder why the kids are always getting in trouble -- they have nothing to do!"
Summer attendance at the School for the Deaf was not in the Individualized Education Plans developed for those special education students, Leff said.
"If it's not in their IEP, it's not going to be funded," Leff said.
Even though Manning said she was not familiar with this particular case, she said the district has underfunded special education out-of-district placements. Still, she said, this matter was not budget-related.
But Linda Hayward, the director of teaching and learning at the School for the Deaf, said participation in the program was recommended and the district didn't approve it. She said in the past, the district has put the program in students' IEPs and funded it.
During this year's IEP meetings, "we presented information about the summer program and the district said it sounded good," Hayward said.
The district representative at the IEP meeting wasn't authorized to approve the program, however, and no one from the district called back to approve the recommendation, Hayward said.
"Special education children even more than regular children tend to lose some of what they learned over the summer," Hayward said.
That same concern resonates with parents of the deaf children who are worried that they will lose sign language skills.
"I work full time, so he's going to be home by himself on the computer or playing games, and I wanted more for him," said Arncy Pollitt, Eddie's mother.
The district pays for Eddie, a 15-year-old freshman, to attend the school during the year. He lives there from Monday through Friday, and this past year he won the best artist award for the eighth grade.
Eddie is nonverbal, but when asked through a written note how he felt about the six-week summer program cancellation, he seemed surprised. His mother said even though she keeps telling him it's not happening, he still thinks he's leaving July 9.
The Special Olympics Unified Summer Program, which was scheduled to start Monday, began in 1995.
As many as 300 students, half classified as special needs, practiced sports each morning in July before a culminating competition with awards, giveaways, radio station sponsorships, barbecued food and hugs from community members.
"I thought the program was very successful, it gave the children experiences that they normally wouldn't have," said William Wagner, who was one of eight teachers hired for the program.
Wagner, who is now looking for another summer job to support his four children, said $26,144 for the program is "not very much in the scope of things and what (the district) spends their money on."
"I would like to have the numbers for the trips that the board members went on to see what the comparison would be," he said.
Gary Poe, another teacher, said there is no "first place" in the program.
"When it comes to running, jumping and kicking a ball, those kids are just as talented as everybody else," he said. "And they're young enough that if they can do well at that age level, it gives them confidence."
Meanwhile, the president of Special Olympics New Jersey, Marc Edenzon, said he'd be willing to work with the district to help restart the program. Camden's Special Olympics has not been affiliated with the official Special Olympics in recent years.