Greenwich schools overdue to become ADA compliant

At the Greenwich Board of Education’s Annual Budget Meeting, a re-organized capital plan was proposed by two BOE members. It prioritizes full ADA compliance throughout the GPS system, and puts issues such as health and safety at the forefront of a holistic view of our school system’s capital needs. We the undersigned, find this approach to be practical, refreshing and absolutely necessary.

The Americans With Disabilities Act became law in 1990. How can it be that 30 years later our public school system, a source of such pride in our community, is still in non-compliance with this most basic of laws? Greenwich is better than that, and our students, their families and our great teachers deserve better.

We have heard the stories of parents in our GPS whose children are directly impacted by the lack of ADA compliance in our schools.

We recall a story about a principal at one of our elementary schools who had knee surgery. For weeks, the principal was unable to visit any of the classrooms on the second floor of the school because there is no elevator, and the stairs were out of the question. In a November

Board of Education meeting a frustrated mother pleaded her case for her son who is about to enter Western Middle School. He uses a wheelchair and certain classes at his new middle school will require him to exit and re-enter the building from a different point of access. We are better than this.

There are many other stories like these. We must ask ourselves as a community if we find this acceptable. Do we? We, the undersigned certainly do not. We agree wholeheartedly with ADA remediation, which puts priorities in the right order and deals head on with the problems that non-ADA compliance poses for our community. This should be included in the current capital plan. This is about equity and inclusion. Every student, teacher and family member should have easy access to enter and exit all our public schools. It is our job to move our elected officials to get that done as soon as possible.

The argument for prioritizing these needs is moral, ethical and intelligent. Non-ADA compliance puts our community at perpetual risk for major lawsuits. Winning a lawsuit is a costly exercise, while losing one can be catastrophic to a municipality on many levels. It is incredible that we have been able to avoid such litigation. In this regard, we are on borrowed time. This is another reason that non-ADA compliance is fiscally and morally irresponsible, and a glaring example of how it affects us all.

We, the undersigned ask that our community make its voice heard and help put a spotlight on this issue. Our Board of Education and superintendent need to hear these voices. We have been non-ADA compliant for 30 years. Let that sink in for a moment. Thirty years. It is unacceptable. It is wrong. The time to change it is now.

This letter is signed by the following people:

Abbe Large, Representative Town Meeting Education Committee member

Greg Large; Greenwich resident and taxpayer

Alan Gunzberg, chairman First Selectman Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities

Stephanie Cowie, vice chair First Selectman Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities

Steven Rubin, RTM Education Committee member

Paula Mickley, RTM Education Committee member

Betsey Frumin, RTM member

Jane Weiseneck; RTM Member

Ferdinando Schiro; RTM member and Greenwich teacher

Alex Popp; RTM member and Greenwich teacher

John Blankley, former BET member

Lauren Marcin, Greenwich special education teacher

Rebecca Comizio, school psychologist

Megan Cimera, NYC Special Education teacher, Greenwich resident

Liz Tommasino; Greenwich Public Schools parent

Roy Skinner, Greenwich resident

Nerlyn Pierson, GPS parent