A task force looking to close state facilities voted against closing or merging the Kansas School for the Deaf and School for the Blind today.
Instead, the two schools will focus on cutting costs at their present locations.
The task force, charged with saving the state money by streamlining operations at state facilities, had considered merging the two schools. But members determined that building a new facility for both schools - or expanding one to house both - would be more expensive than the status quo.
"We were charged to look at whether there were savings there," said Rochelle Chronister, chairwoman of the Facilities Closure and Realignment Commission. "If you don't have the savings, then it doesn't make sense."
The state has considered closing or merging the schools before, but each time lawmakers opted to leave them alone.
The task force is also looking at closing or moving Rainbow Mental Health Facility in KCK, the state's Neurological Institute in Topeka, and other facilities.
A final recommendation to Gov. Mark Parkinson and the Legislature is due by Dec. 1.
Members of the Commission discussed whether it would make sense to build a new facility to house both schools - either in central Kansas or at one of the existing campuses. But a new facility comes with a pricetag of as much as $40 million - hardly a goal to immediate savings.
Still, Commission members said it might make sense to look at the idea of a single campus when the state has the money to afford it. The existing schools, they say, could use an upgrade as several buildings date back 100 years.
The School for the Blind, in KCK, opened in 1867. It houses about 70 students on campus and serves hundreds more throughout the state with part-time classes and outreach to local school districts. The school's budget is $6.6 million.
The School for the Deaf, opened in 1861, currently has 135 students and operates on a budget of $9.9 million.
Both facilities have reduced their budgets by holding positions open or cutting back on programs. In addition, the schools have agreed to trim administrative costs and the state's Department of Education is looking at other cost-saving measures.
Rainbow, a 50-bed adult psychiatric hospital opened in the 1970s, faced calls for its elimination in 2000 and 2002. The state estimated it could save $400,000 a year by transferring patients to a state hospital in Osawatomie, 25 miles south of Olathe.
