Chief Patron: Hanger
VSDB-M Consolidation Language (language only)

Item 136 #1s

Language
Page 121, after line 17, insert
"E.  Notwithstanding other provisions of the Code of Virginia, the Department of Education shall consolidate the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind at Staunton and the Virginia School for the Deaf, Blind, and Multi-Disabled at Hampton.  In implementing a plan of consolidation, the Department shall, if it is possible and cost effective:
1. Retain a program in Hampton in conjunction with the City of Hampton to serve sensory impaired children with multiple disabilities;
2. Plan a new facility to consolidate residential programs for students with visual or hearing impairments, to include ED and cognitive learning disabilities. This facility shall be either a partial renovation and new construction on the existing campus in Staunton or new construction and possibly shared facilities at the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center facility in Fishersville, whichever option is most cost effective. Neither the Hampton facility nor the Staunton facility shall be vacated unless suitable alternative use for the property is established."

Explanation
(This amendment addresses the issue of consolidating the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind at Staunton, which currently has an enrollment of 136 students, and the Virginia School for the Deaf, Blind, and Multi-Disabled at Hampton, which currently has an enrollment of 70 students. Both schools are situated on 70-plus acre multi-building campuses with cumulating deferred maintenance needs.)