Kalamazoo, MI – The parents of children attending a local autism program are angry with officials’ recent decision to move its site to another location.
According to parents including Tina Brown, widespread changes regarding several aspects of KRESA’s program are made every year without the input of the families that will ultimately be affected by them. Brown’s teenaged daughter Jessie attends the program at its Schoolcraft location and had been making significant strides in the time she has been enrolled both socially and with respect to her communication skills as well.
However Jessie has already had to move seven times due to program location changes which her mother reveals has been both frustrating and challenging over the years. Laurie Montgomery, the Assistant Superintendent of Special Education for KRESA acknowledges that the changes will be difficult for families but argues that restructuring is simply necessary due to budgetary concerns regarding transportation.
Thus the site will be moved from the Schoolcraft facility to Portage Public Schools which will be more feasible to operate both practically as well as logistically. An upcoming vote in Kalamazoo County will enable voters to choose to approve proposed tax increases that would help to fund special education, however KRESA states that the move will occur regardless of the outcome of the vote.