Find efficiencies, large and small

Within the state's massive education budget, the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School is a small fraction.

But as state lawmakers seek ways to fill a $1 billion state budget shortfall next year, the largest in history, every fraction is part of painful financial equation. No program, no matter how important, is off limits.

“I don't think anybody's arguing the need for the services,” said state Sen. Brian Schoenjahn, co-chair of a legislative panel overseeing education spending, which makes up 60 percent of the state budget. “I think the scrutiny is going to come in the cost of those services. Because in our ed budget, everything is on the table.”

The need is clear. The Vinton campus is at the hub of a statewide education program for 425 blind and visually impaired students attending local schools across Iowa. It's also home to a residential program with a price tag that's raised concerns.

Of the $4.9 million the Braille school receives from the state, $2.4 million is spent on a residential program that currently serves nine full-time students, Superintendent Patrick Clancy said.

Clancy points out that, in addition to full-time students, children from across the state also use the residential program for short-term, high-intensity education programs that teach life skills and other courses. And because some staff who work in the residential program also work in statewide outreach efforts, the tab for nine students is deceiving.

Still, as the state searches for savings small and large, the cost of the school's residential program deserves scrutiny.

Of course, lawmakers must be cautious to preserve important educational programs, some of which are mandated by the federal government. Legislative efforts should be aimed at providing help with greater efficiency.

Although Clancy defends the necessity of having a residential setting as part of a full spectrum of educational choices, he says officials have begun to consider other options for providing it.

Clancy says it may be possible down the road to partner with other types of residential facilities to provide educational programs for blind and visually impaired students. That might allow the school to provide residential programs at a more centrally located facility in Iowa or in multiple facilities close to where students live. The Vinton campus would continue to serve as the headquarters for the statewide program.

The search for efficiencies hasn't gone much beyond preliminary concepts. But that may and should change amid budget woes. During the current budget year, lawmakers had to use federal stimulus dollars to keep the Braille school and many other Board of Regents' programs afloat. With little sign of a new stimulus on the horizon, the time for action is now.