Pathfinder losing its way

Nearly 40 years ago, seven southern Allegheny County school districts created a school where children with special needs could find their way.

Today, that school - Pathfinder - is in search of its own way.

Representatives of the seven districts, Pathfinder staff and parents of children at the school will begin meeting today to discuss whether Pathfinder should remain open in Bethel Park or be closed when the 40-year agreement creating it expires in 2004.

The 9 a.m. meeting at Pathfinder is open to the public.

Richard Rose, a member of the Bethel Park School Board and president of the Pathfinder board, said he wants to see two plans drafted - one detailing what happens if Pathfinder remains open, another detailing how the school would be closed.

'Should Pathfinder stay open or should Pathfinder close• That's the basic answer we need to find out first,' he said.

'The students are the responsibility of the home district. They're the ones that must provide for their education,' he said. 'You can't just close that school and say 'School districts, here's your problem.' If you're going to close it, what are you going to do with the students?'

The seven districts that own Pathfinder are Bethel Park, Carlynton, Chartiers Valley, Keystone Oaks, Mt. Lebanon, South Fayette and Upper St. Clair. Students from other districts also attend the school, which is operated by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit.

Fifteen districts were originally involved when Pathfinder was created in 1964. Through consolidations, those 15 districts became seven.

When the school opened in 1966, it housed more than 400 students. Today, because most special education students are taught in regular schools, there are only 24 students from the member districts and 30 from nonmember districts, said Pathfinder Principal Cheryl Fogarty.

'It's frankly being underutilized,' said Victor Morrone, superintendent of the Bethel Park School District, which now sends 11 students to Pathfinder.

Portions of the three-floor building, which includes a gym and heated pool, are now used for other purposes, such as a preschool. All but one room is currently in use, Fogarty said.

The school cannot be closed before 2004 unless all seven of the member districts agree. In December, the Mt. Lebanon School Board passed a resolution to keep Pathfinder open until at least June 2004 to permit the planning process to take place.

The district will re-evaluate its position on the closing of Pathfinder when the plan is completed, said Mt. Lebanon Superintendent Glenn Smartschan.

However, Rose said there is no guarantee Pathfinder will be open until 2004. All that is certain, he said, is that the school will be open for the 2001-02 school year.

Among the member districts, Bethel Park, Chartiers Valley and South Fayette are interested in keeping the school open, but finding additional uses for the building, according to their respective superintendents.

'We just don't see it staying open with the present use,' said Chartiers Valley Superintendent Bernard Sulkowski, whose district has four students at Pathfinder. 'We'd like to incorporate the present use with other uses. I hope we can come up with something in the strategic plan.'

The Keystone Oaks district, however, believes the partnership should be dissolved in 2004 and the school closed, said Superintendent Carl DeJulio. The district currently has one student at the school.

'Pathfinder needs to dissolve and something more specific, more relevant to the needs of the children needs to take its place,' he said. 'The present model is somewhat antiquated. We think there are other and better ways to meet the needs of those children.'

Superintendents from Carylnton and Upper St. Clair did not return calls for comment.

Unlike a general high school, where students may be preparing for college, students at Pathfinder are learning basic daily living skills, such as how to perform routine household tasks - making a bed, cooking and doing laundry.

Some of their learning takes them out into the community, delivering newspapers, going food shopping and eating out.

'It's a very different kind of school, one that's not easily replaced,' Rose said. 'There's a need for it.'

Although many disabled students have been 'mainstreamed' into their home districts, Rose said some parents choose for their children to remain at Pathfinder.

Pathfinder 'gives them a choice,' Rose said. 'The parents of the students choose that setting for their child because that's what's best for them.'

Lynn Ewanco's 17-year-old son, James, is autistic and has been at Pathfinder for the past four years. She believes mainstreaming is not the answer.

'It's not that easy,' she said. 'It doesn't meet all the needs of these kids. These kids are very fragile. These kids are very needy. The school districts are not going to be able to handle this.'

Rose said he hopes to have plans to present to the member districts by May. However, he is uncertain how long it will take to get seven school boards to act.

'It takes a lot of time to get seven districts to decide something,' he said. 'It's not going to be an easy job.'

Brian C. Rittmeyer can be reached at brittmeyer@tribweb.com or at (412) 306-4540.