This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Re "Board ponders closing schools for deaf, blind" (Tribune, Feb. 5):
I am writing as a mother of a child who uses the services of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind. Children who use USDB do so because their own school districts are not able to provide the needed services due to lack of funds and the many needs of these children.
It is imperative that all our children, disabled or not, get the services they need. It is not financially smart to assume that these children will get these services, which are federally mandated, in their home school districts. Many of the services will not be available, in part because of an existing shortage of specially trained staff.
Please, voice your concern and disdain for closing the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind or limiting its services in any way.
We can pay for these children and their needs now, or we will forever pay for them as they grow into adulthood with no skills to help themselves.
Anissa Wardell
Heber City