Butterfield Cheers the Department of Public Instruction for Saving Special Needs Schools

Statement

Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) today cheered the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's (DPI) plan to preserve all three state residential schools for blind and deaf students by consolidating administrative services and leasing its underused facilities.

Butterfield said, "I am particularly pleased that after careful consideration State Superintendent June Atkinson and the DPI have not only decided to keep Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf open, but to also save both the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh and the North Carolina School for the Deaf in Morganton. Each of these institutions are essential to their communities and the population they serve."

The General Assembly instructed DPI to close one of the three schools during this fiscal year to save the state more than $5 million.

Last month, Butterfield coauthored a letter with Congressman Walter Jones (NC-03) to State Superintendent Atkinson regarding the potential closure of the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf. In their letter, the congressmen expressed great concern over the school's potential closure and urged DPI to keep the school open.

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