by GREG NIKKEL, of the Weyburn Review
The struggle by a Ceylon mother over where her disabled child will attend school is continuing this week, as a meeting held with area and provincial school officials has not resolved where the child will attend school.
Anita Gust first brought the issue before the public with a letter-to-the-editor, which appeared in the July 29 issue of the Weyburn Review. In it, she explained that with the closing of Ceylon School in June, she was in a quandary as to where her five-year-old son Katlan could attend school.
The nearest school with the best roads, according to Gust, is Pangman School in the Prairie View School Division, but school officials told her this is not possible as no program exists at that school to handle disabled students. The developmental centre at Yellow Grass School is the only school equipped to take Katlan for that school division, who has cerebral palsy and is wheelchair-bound, but the Gusts are under the Radville School Division as residents of Ceylon.
A meeting was held between Gust and school officials from the Radville and Prairie View School Divisions, and Tom Schell, the regional director for Saskatchewan Education, on Sept. 8 to try and come up with a resolution to this issue.
"Nothing's resolved. From what I gathered, this meeting was to bring up options that I could consider, but still the options are Yellow Grass, Weyburn or Radville," said Gust. While Radville is the same distance away from her as Pangman, Gust said the road there is hilly and unsafe, and neither she nor her son knows anybody at that school.
"They asked me to consider each and every option before making a decision I will be looking at Bengough as a possibility," she said, noting Bengough is about 30 minutes away.
For the Radville School Division, they are still willing to provide Gust with a program for her son in Radville, but education director Bob Demencuik said the decision rests with Gust as to where her son will attend school.
"The Radville division board is still willing to provide a program for this child, who is multiply-disabled," he said.
As of Tuesday, Demencuik said the division has still not heard if Gust has made up her mind where Katlan will attend school.
"The mother has to make up her mind where she will send her child, and Pangman is not an option. Her options are Yellow Grass or Radville. The reason Pangman is not an option is accessibility and a lack of program, and the fact that in Prairie View School Division the child would go to Yellow Grass," said Demencuik, adding that as Gust lives in Ceylon.
Another option is that Gust could home-school her child, he said, or he could be kept at home for now, as the mandatory age for school attendance is not until seven years of age.
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