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Schools

Taft School Slated to Reopen to Serve Special Needs

The district hopes to reuse the closed Wyandotte elementary school for special education programs.

After a 54-year history as a Wyandotte educational institution, Taft Elementary School closed its doors for what appeared to be the last time on June 17, 2010.

What a difference a few months make. 

Plans are in the works to reopen Taft to house the district's center-based programs for special needs children. The center is currently located at .

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Carla Harting, the district's director of special education, presented an update to the Wyandotte Board of Education at its Tuesday night meeting.

“The special education department and operations department have determined Taft is a better building in general and far more energy efficient,” she said. “Our projections include a savings of more than $28,000 in energy costs once we move to Taft.”

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School board members also recently addressed traffic issues near Madison, which officials say could be eliminated by moving the program to Taft. Board treasurer Robert Kirby said he lives near Madison and has firsthand knowledge of existing traffic issues. 

Special needs students come to the center from all 17 Downriver school districts. Kirby estimated 30 to 37 buses currently transport students to and from the site daily. During that time, the buses are parked up and down streets in the neighborhood, causing traffic congestion and headaches for residents who live nearby.

Harding said that she has been in contact with city officials and is in in the process of scheduling a meeting to discuss traffic lights and traffic flow for the area near Taft.

Superintendent Patricia Cole asked for the board’s agreement in order to begin preparing the Taft site for cleaning and the removal of any elementary materials that were not needed for the center-based programs.

The board agreed it was in the district’s best interest to begin the initial cleaning process needed to prepare the building while awaiting additional information.

Harding said she hopes to move some of the special education classes to Taft prior to the end of this school year. By doing so, she said, special needs students would have a chance to become more familiar with their new environment.

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