Placer County School Sales Send Parents Of Special-Needs Children Scrambling

NEWCASTLE (CBS13) - Parents of special needs children in Placer County were shocked to learn their children's special educations schools could be closing. Placer County Board of Education wants to sell the schools and find alternative locations for the students.

"He's far too medically fragile to be in a general education campus on a general education site," said Robin McGuire, whose 7-year-old son attends Onorato Educational Center. "He was born with a chromosomal deletion that has left him globally delayed permanently. He does not walk, he does not speak, he does not feed or dress himself."

McGuire is one of 53 children from ages 3 to 22 attending Sierra Vista, Secret Ravine and Onorato Educational Centers. All of them live with severe mental and physical disabilities. Between seizures, epilepsy, and a rare form of cancer, McGuire's son requires 24-hour care.

"It's hard," McGuire said through the tears. "We fight every day for our son. Lachlan wouldn't go to school if it wasn't for Onorato. Lachlan would be on home-based education."

With all of their various needs, the three schools make things a little bit easier for families by providing one-on-one supervision and peace of mind for many parents.

"It's the one place where we have, where we don't have to integrate," said Brad Lupi, whose daughter Jayden has to be fed through a tube. "We come and they're normal here. The school has been critical for her to get the education that she deserves like any other kid."

Placer County Board of Education plans to sell the schools to Newcastle School District to alleviate crowded schools and traffic concerns. The current special needs students would then be relocated to other facilities across the county.

"We're looking at a variety of facilities both on a comprehensive school site and a more isolated site," said Gayle Garbolino-Mojica, Placer County School Superintendent.

He said she understands the parents' concerns and hopes they'll see the benefit of having their children in schools closer to home.

"We are committed to replicating 100% what the program is, with staffing, with curriculum, with all sorts of equipment," she said.

But the parents we talked to told CBS13 they were blindsided by the news.

"It makes me angry because there was zero warning!" said Shane Wegener, whose 14-year-old daughter requires medication 4 times a day. "They didn't have any open board meetings to discuss it, the neighbors don't know, we didn't know as parents!"

Wegener was shocked to learn that the school board had not request parental input and believes that if the schools were general education, the superintendent would not have moved so quickly towards a sale.

"If they need to sell it, fine, then build these kids a new school," Wegener said.

Garbolino-Mojica told CBS13 state funds cannot be used to build a new school exclusively for special needs children. However, she insists that any alternative facilities will have the equipment necessary for the children to thrive.

If the sale goes through, the students will the leave the special education schools in phases – 21 in the fall of 2017 and 27 in the fall or 2018. The Board will likely vote on the sale at its upcoming November or December meeting.