Saturday, May 02, 2009
By JASON LADAY
jladay@sjnewsco.com

SOURCE

VINELAND - When Sen. Jeff Van Drew and Assemblymen Nelson Albano and Matt Milam on Thursday arrived to tour a school set to close in 2010, they were initially denied access.

According to Albano, as the three state legislators entered the New Jersey Department of Children and Families Cumberland County regional school - which teaches handicapped, adjudicated, cognitively impaired and developmentally disabled children and adults - they were at first turned away by the supervisor there.


"She told us she couldn't let us go in, that the state office called and told her not to let us in," said Albano. "Jeff (Van Drew) then spoke with them and they eventually let us in."

The legislators had been invited on the tour by officials at the school. Van Drew, Milam and Albano have recently tbegan lobbying to keepthe school open, stating they fear for the 31 students if they are forced out of the closing school.

Vineland Mayor Robert Romano has also visited the school.

Lauren Kidd, a spokeswoman for the NJDCF, stated the department's no-entry policy is a matted student confidentiality and privacy.

"People cannot be allowed inside schools unless it's something coordinated in advance, and we obtain the necessary consent from parents, and it has to be coordinated with school leaders and the governing agency," said Kidd. "There are confidentiality issues involved, especially given the fact that some of the children have specialized needs."

Albano has stated he and his District 1 colleagues have received "tons and tons" of mail from parents of students at the regional school asking them to help keep the school open.

"These places are crucial; if you close this school, you might as well take away three quarters of the life support," he said Thursday.

However, Kidd stated the NJDCF is aware of the potential difficulties in moving the students to other schools and programs.

"We care very much about the education of these children, and we will work to ensure that their education needs will continue to be met," added Kidd.

According to Kidd, the decision to shutter the NJDCF's 18 regional schools is not a budget issue, stating the closings are due to decreasing enrollment.

The NJDCF closings are unrelated to Assemblyman Louis Greenwald's (D-Camden) proposal to shut five of the state's seven institutional developmental centers, moving their residents to "community-based" care. However, one of the developmental centers slated to close is located in Vineland.

Kidd also refuted a claim made Thursday by an attorney representing employees at the Vineland NJDCF school that it "only" costs $4 million to operate all 18 schools.

"The $4 million is not the total amount to run the regional schools; it is considerably more than that," said Kidd. "When we look at the entire budget, some of the money comes from the state budget; some is tuition funding aid to the state by local school districts.

"There is a reduction shown in our proposed budget of $4 million, but that is a partial reduction because of the planned phased transition."

Kidd said she did not have an exact figure on what the department spent to run the schools, referring the question to state budget officer Tom Bell. However, Bell could not be reached for comment Friday.