Plan to disband Idaho School for Deaf and Blind put on hold

From: KTVB, ID - Mar 21, 2006

Associated Press

BOISE -- A plan to disband the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind in Gooding is dead, at least for now.

The House Education Committee rejected a proposal that would have shuttered the 100-year-old school in two years, favoring a more regional approach to educating Idaho students with hearing and vision impairments.

Committee members heard impassioned testimony, mostly from people who were against the plan to close the school.

Many were graduates, speaking with the help of sign-language interpreters.

Three lawmakers had developed the bill after learning student numbers are declining, and costs rising.

According to a state study, it costs about $80,000 annually to educate each of the roughly 40 students who live at the school.

A task force of the Idaho State Board of Education plans to study the issue further.

©2006 KTVB-TV