Families fear impact of Buckingham Exceptional Student Center move

LEE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK) — Families at Buckingham Exceptional Student Center learned last week that their school would be moving to a new location next school year, and many parents are not happy about it.

• RELATED: Parents fight Lee County plan to move Buckingham special needs school

Parents showed up as School District of Lee County officials got a look inside the school on Wednesday morning. Buckingham Exceptional Student Center is what many parents call a safe haven for their kids.

"Carmen, she doesn't talk, but she does show a lot of emotions. Her eyes will tell you a lot," said Vanessa Pagan, a parent. "If she's happy, and that's how she comes home every day, like you could tell in her face that you know she had a good day at school, that they take time to spend time with her. She's just not a number here."

When the School District of Lee County told Pagan that her daughter was moving schools to Royal Palm Exceptional Student Center, she had concerns.

"It's nerve-wracking because I don't know what to expect at the other school," Pagan said.

WINK News first reported on the move last week when parents got a letter in the mail. Since then, they got a tour inside the school and met with school board members, but still few answers, so they reached out to WINK News about their concerns.

"My sister Payton, she's literally my world. She's my drive," said Niya Wilson, Payton's sister. "My sister can't walk. My sister can't even crawl anymore because she's g-tube fed…Buckingham is literally my sister's home away from home."

Some parents took off from work to show up when they heard school district officials would be visiting the school on Wednesday morning.

"I was here to see what exactly they were coming, to look at they came into my daughter's class, and they were in there maybe 30 seconds," Pagan said.

"No interaction at all with any officials from the district," said Felishia Wilson, a parent.

The school district says the walkthrough was an internal meeting to address the questions, concerns and modification requests that came directly from families at Buckingham. They say they are committed to working together with families at both schools.

"Honestly, if I don't look at that school first and I see that it's ready, my daughter will not be returning to school," Pagan said. "She will stay home."

Other parents say they'll keep fighting.

"Our children have no voice, and us as parents, as their caregivers, their protectors," Wilson said. "We're going to keep fighting."

The school district says the move is expected to happen in August. Parents say they plan to attend next month's school board meeting.