By Steve McIntosh
Just when you didn’t think the Laguna Beach School District and board could sink any lower, the last school board meeting on Aug. 16 showed there is just no end.
A Laguna family with an incoming freshman with special needs was told that the high school couldn’t accommodate her as there were not enough kids to justify the program. The parents were devastated, as this young lady wanted nothing but to go to high school with her siblings and continue being part of the community. Instead, the district offered that she could be bused to El Toro.
Over 120 parents, students and community members showed up to speak passionately about another one of the blunders the district has made throughout Superintendent Jason Viloria’s tenure. The entire dais sat stone-faced without emotion when one after another came forward to speak just how wrong this was and how it had incensed the entire community.
Well, the power of the people made a difference. That young lady was able to walk into the high school on Thursday morning, a Breaker. Fantastic news!
Over the last several years, the district has been quietly cutting back on what once was a fantastic, innovative program for kids with special needs at the high school, claiming there were not enough kids for the program to continue. Word on the street is that several families went to other programs with their younger kids because of this move by the district, so of course, there were not enough kids. Exactly what Viloria wants. Less hassle, better test scores, and, ultimately, save money. The bottom line is they can do anything they want to. They could have easily remedied this situation. They shut it all down pretty easily, so.
The special ed program at the high school had been a magical experience that has helped hundreds of kids at various levels of disability find a sense of self. They learned in class, and then students and aides walked downtown to train and work at Hotel Laguna and BJs Pizza. They even had a recycling business on campus. They would collect money and lunch orders from teachers and go buy them lunch to deliver back. They took cooking classes at the Assistance League, cooked and served lunch. Experiences that could only be had in Laguna. All made possible by a superstar teacher, Mindy Hawkins. Mindy and her team touched and changed so many lives of kids and families for the better.
One unsung benefit of having special needs kids on campus was their effect on the rest of the student body. It gave a bit of humility to a school of fairly well-privileged students. Many of us watched as the student body of 2016 nominated and voted special needs student Moorea Howson as homecoming queen. There wasn’t a dry eye in the stadium that night. That gesture from the student body is something they will never forget. Others said they had been inspired to work with special needs kids as a profession.
So why don’t didn’t we still have this program? Because, in my opinion, we have a superintendent and school board majority that has never had a connection to the community and never will.
So, why the 180? Did SchoolPower donors threaten? Because it’s an election year? Certainly not because it was the right thing to do.
After the speakers at the board meeting, president Jan Vickers stated that the Board should not be blamed and she did not want anger directed toward them. Vickers, you are the school board! Responsible for everything that goes on in the district. Viloria had an opportunity to step up and show leadership, but he said nothing.
One of the major problems is that the school board is a self-proclaimed “weak board.” The board does not develop policy, they just approve it. They are not allowed to do what most people think they should be doing. That is for the superintendent to do. Shame on the board for putting this family through this process.
The good news is that two school board seats are up for election. It’s time to vote in new leadership.
Steve McIntosh is a 43-year resident and co-founder of Sensible Laguna, A Voice of Reason, SensibleLaguna.org.
I have been around special needs people since I was a young child and find that they are not only “special needs” people but “special” people, who bring joy to those around them and bring out the best in all of us who come in contact with them. In Laguna Beach, we need look no further than our very own Skipper, a man with many challenges yet one who was almost universally known around town and could always be depended on for a big smile and his trademark greeting; “Have a homerun day!”
How did we go from building a commemorative statue to a man who, despite his challenges, inspired so many in this community, to eliminating “special needs” children from participating in the daily life of our community? I fear Laguna may be losing its way. I hope we are not losing our soul.