Future of Iowa Braille School residential program

The future of the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Vinton has been in the news lately. State Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, last week said he thinks the school could be on the chopping block because of state budget cuts. Patrick Clancy, superintendent of the school, on Friday said officials are studying the long term future of the school's residential program on campus, but Clancy said he doesn't think the residential program will end anytime soon. The 158-year-old Braille school has nine students in the residential program this year, down from 12 last year and 160 a few decades ago. The shrinking on-campus numbers are part of the transition to a statewide system to provide more services to blind and visually impaired students in their home schools and communities. The new statewide system, of which the Braille school is a part, serves 425 students this year. The school's state appropriation this year - after a 10 percent budget cut - is about $5.5 million. About $2.7 million of that supports the residential program, Clancy said.

Another state legislator, Rep. Dawn Pettengill, R-Mount Auburn, weighed in today on the future of the Braille school, reaffirming her support. While there are not as many students living on the campus as there once was, Pettengill said, the school serves more than 400 Iowa children around the state with important services. Much of the state appropriation to the school goes to those services, she said.

“I've met with administrators, teachers, parents and students from the Iowa Braille school to discuss how important this learning center is to them,” Pettengill said in a statement.  “IBSSS goes a long way to educating and enriching Iowa school children's lives.”  

The state should find other budget efficiencies,  such as eliminating the state vehicle fleet and consolidating technology systems, before it puts the Iowa Braille school on the chopping block, she said.