Letter to the school board-

Sorry for the repeat picture- this is the pic that I chose for the top of the handout to the school board.

My name is Linda Nargi. My husband and I have a beautiful 2 year old daughter named Lila. She has Down Syndrome. Lila currently attends the Early Childhood Special Education program at Creighton’s Corner Elementary school in Brambleton. She has a wonderful teacher and a caring aid. She is receiving PT, OT and speech services. Her therapists and teachers challenge her and work with her on skills that come naturally to most children. The current proposed budget cuts that affect the special education department are very troubling to us. We live in Ashburn Village and our daughter attends school in Brambleton. There are 7 elementary schools that are much closer to our house but either the special education programs are full or they simply aren’t offered in those schools. I’m not sure how the proposal to reduce the number of special education teacher and aid positions in the future can even be considered when the current special education program doesn’t have enough staff to support the needs of the county. I’m not here to ask you to keep the same number of activity buses available for after- school activities and field trips or to discuss the expense of a parking pass for my child. I’m not asking you to continue to cover the cost of extracurricular activities or for new band uniforms. It is not my intent to minimize the importance of the concerns of my fellow parents, I just don’t feel that they should be put in the same category as special education. While our family would not change our angel for anything in the world, we did not choose this journey. This path was chosen for us and we are doing the very best we can to ensure that our daughter has a full and productive life. I’m asking you to put yourself in our shoes. What would you do if your child had an intellectual disability? How would you vote if it directly affected your family? I’m asking you, for the sake of our daughter and all of the other kids in Loudoun County with intellectual disabilities, not to approve the proposed budget cuts that impact special education. Please do not take away their opportunity to move forward.

Linda