Former Indiana School for the Deaf leader says students' safety at risk because of budget cuts

The former leader of the Indiana School for the Deaf said budget cuts risk students' safety and the school's ability to function.

David Geeslin retired from his role as the School for the Deaf superintendent last month.

The school's funding is already the lowest per-student amount of any deaf school in the country. And Geeslin, through an interpreter, said any fat that could be trimmed out of the deaf school's budget was cut years ago.

"Now, we feel like they are cutting the bone marrow out of this school," Geeslin said.

Geeslin noted that the 5 percent budget cut is actually deeper — the school already needed additional funding beyond its previous budget level to help attract staff. He said wages had been "substandard" for years.

READ MORE: Advocates say budget cuts at Indiana School for the Deaf becoming a crisis
 

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Geeslin also said he had been working with state leaders to advocate for minimizing the effects and breadth of the cuts — until they "just stopped talking with us."

"They don't care about us. We are not equals to them," Geeslin said. "We are a school of disabled people in their eyes and they are just completely dismissing us because we are different. Is it because of diversity? Is that a curse word that they don't want?"

When asked recently about the school's budget, Gov. Mike Braun said he doesn't think the cuts are "devastating" or "draconian." But he added that he'll be paying attention to the effect of cuts on "places that have special sensitivity."

The Indiana Department of Education previously said budget cuts are necessary to ensure students at the school "continue to have access to the high-quality classroom experience necessary to thrive."

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.