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Letter to the Editor - Published
September 12, 2007
Westlake Picayune newspaper
Dear
Editor,
On
August 29th, parent volunteers of the Eanes ADA Task Force asked the
Board of Trustees to appoint a member to serve on a Task Force to work
positively and effectively with the district to remove architectural
barriers and eliminate ADA compliance violations dating back to the
1990's.
In a statement during Open Forum, the
Task Force spokesperson told the Board of Trustees that many serious and
urgent access problems exist across Eanes facilities, including but not
limited to children in wheelchairs not evacuated during fire drills,
children blocked from recreational fields, and children excluded from
recess due to architecture and that eight months of attempts to work
with the Superintendent had been unsuccessful, as administrators had
refused to provide the Task Force with documents, refused to schedule
meetings, and reneged on the mutually agreed upon deadline. Trustee Robert Durkee asked
Superintendent Nola Wellman if this was true, and she said, "no."
Brick and mortar facts say otherwise, as
does the 2003 SHW Facilities Assessment Review (available on
www.keepeanesinformed.com.) The district fought hard
to withhold this report, and released it only after formal complaints to
the Attorney General and County Attorney. In this study, ADA violations
at every Eanes school were outlined in detail and budgeted for repair.
Why five years have passed without them being addressed is another
question.
Removing barriers that segregate children
should be the highest and most urgent priority for the current $53
million bond, as it is an issue of safety, legal compliance, and direct
instructional/curricular support.
Parents and taxpayers should not accept anything less than Exemplary
status when it comes to providing access for all children. These
problems have gone decades without being fixed and real children have
been affected by them for far too long. The time is here. And so is the
money.
Your action is needed! Please email (or
call) trustees at www.trustees.eanes.k12.us and tell them you support
the ADA Task Force and Eanes ADA compliance as an urgent priority and
attend the Board of Trustees Work Study Session September 17 at 6:30
p.m., during which this issue and the bond in general will be addressed
