Some Lee County students with special medical needs will be changing schools next year and their parents are not happy.
In April, the school system declared a pause on a plan to combine Buckingham Exceptional School and Royal Palm Exceptional School. Buckingham serves children with medical special needs; Royal Palm, students with behavioral issues. Buckingham parents have for several months pleaded with the system to abandon the plan, mostly claiming Royal Palm doesn’t meet accessibility requirements for their children.
But the pause was lifted this week.
Buckingham school parent liaison Katie Peterson and other parents learned by email on Tuesday that their children would be moving to Royal Palm next year.
She and other parents had repeatedly urged the school board and superintendent not to do this. In the email, parents were told the plan involves "physical modifications" and that the school system would collaborate with parents in a series of meetings and committees about the transition.
“I don't think they actually listened to our concerns,” Peterson said. “I think the element of distrust that's been established from the district with the parents, it's hard to even believe that they will follow through with what they are saying, or that they'll actually hear the depths of the concerns that we have moving forward.”
Peterson’s daughter is a student at Buckingham and Peterson is very concerned that the Royal Palm school is not equipped for her or other students.
“For her specifically, she's blind and she can't regulate her temperature,” Peterson said.
“She's wheelchair bound part of the time but working towards her IEP goals that involve her walking at longer distances. The campus at Royal Palm as is would not allow her to be able to walk longer distances because she would be out in the heat in the hallways.
“And she is still diapered and so being able to have space to get her wheelchair in the room and her and as many staff members as she would need, especially as she grows, that's a concern,” Peterson added. She said she’s grateful that her daughter will be able to finish out the year at the Buckingham school but doesn’t know what she’ll do about next year.
The district’s plan is to establish what it calls a state-of-the-art flagship Exceptional Student Education center on the Royal Palm campus.
In a media release, Regional Associate Superintendent Chuck Vilardi said, “We heard from our families what they want, incorporated those ideas into our plan, and look forward to continued collaboration to build a model ESE facility that truly serves the unique needs of every child.”
The school district declined to elaborate on the plan or comment further.
Former Buckingham school principal Ruthie Lohmeyer, who retired in 2020 after six years at that post, said she is “just furious, because the communication to the families and the community has been horrendous. They did not listen to the tons and tons of speakers at the board meetings.”
As for the plans to modify the building, Lohmeyer is skeptical.
“I'd have to see it to believe it. … I'd want a tour of it and I'd like to see the blueprints.
“I'm just incredibly disappointed in the school district.
“But I do want to say one thing, that no matter where these kids are going to go, when you have loving, caring teachers and paraprofessionals, the kids will still be OK. And that's the only positive I have for this move.”
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