SALT LAKE CITY — Students who attend the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, along with their parents, are breathing a sigh of relief.
This comes after a legislative audit recommended some changes to the school's governance and management, but no major funding cuts.
Fewer than 2,000 students attend Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind. But on Tuesday, inside the Utah state capital, dozens of them and their relatives made sure lawmakers heard them loud and clear… in sign language.
“We were signing the 'I love you sign,'" Sandra Zavala explained. "Definitely I feel like USDB is not just a school, per se. I feel like it’s more like a large family.”
Zavala drove from Ogden with her 7-year-old daughter Rosalie, who is deaf and attends USDB.
Zavala and others were fearful that programs might be cut that would put Rosalie and other deaf students back into a mainstream school.
“She looks forward to school every single day," Zavala said. "The weekends she’s sad because in the morning she’ll wake up and she will sign to me, 'backpack' or 'school,' and when she’s not going to school, she’s kind of sad about it.”
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Inside a legislative committee meeting, lawmakers went over a performance audit of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
Audit supervisor Jacob Davis said the schools need to be more student-focused.
“But we want to make sure that any changes that are made need to consider, and ensure that proper time, attention and expertise is available given the unique needs and characteristics of USDB students and their families," he said.
The key findings of the audit were that USDB needs more oversight than the state of board of education has provided. It also found that they can improve their strategic planning to focus more on academic achievement.
The Board of Education also did their own internal audit this year. Vice Chair LeAnn Wood agreed changes will be made.
“When you know better, you do better, and this board has taken action after action to show that we are dedicated to the school to the schools," she said.
But for now, there will be no major funding cuts that would potentially put students like Rosalie back into a mainstream school setting.
Using sign language, Rosalie told FOX 13 News that she loves her school.
Meanwhile, parents of other deaf students, like Alisa Ensign, were thrilled with the show of support from the USDB community.
“And we wanted to stand today and say: ‘Don’t forget us, work with us, and let’s do what’s best for the deaf children,'” Ensign said.
