To the editor,
We want to cast another point of view on the upcoming bond issue vote. We would like to start with giving you a personal experience that we have faced in our family.
Last year our 10-year-old daughter was playing at church. While doing so, she sprained her ankle badly enough that she had to be on crutches. At home this was challenge enough as we have stairs at our house. However, our children spend a good portion of their waking moments at school. We contacted the school to see what her options were for getting to and from her classes on multiple levels of the Intermediate school building.
The response, though not the fault of the faculty and staff of the school, was still rather frustrating. We were told that in order to make this work she would have to have someone else hold her books and she could “scoot up and down the stairs” on her bottom. To help facilitate this they would allow her to leave five minutes before everyone else so as not to be trampled by other students.
This was not only a huge inconvenience for our daughter, but a source of fear and anxiety as well. She had never been on crutches before and was not comfortable with them on the stairs. That being said it was a temporary issue and one that we could live with for a short time.
However, we began to consider other children with more lasting injuries or disabilities, especially those bound to wheelchairs. The aforementioned solution is not possible for someone who will be on crutches for a lengthy period of time or someone who is bound to a wheelchair. Often these students, even though they are highly functioning, would have to have all of their classes in a single floor which would often keep them from the same interaction with their peers that other students get. This would in turn hinder one of the most crucial aspects of a child’s public school education, social interaction.
So for our part, we will be voting yes for the school bond issue. The bond will create facilities that no longer hinder students with injuries and disabilities, but instead create an atmosphere of equality among their peers. We feel it is very important to consider every student, not just our own, or our own financial tax burden when making these decisions. We encourage others to take these things into consideration as well as they formulate their opinions and vote accordingly.
JB and Lorelle Hinote, Jefferson
