Residents Petition to Save OT Position

Dozens of residents have rallied around Lorraine Johnson in the wake of the North Hampton School Board's decision to cut her occupational therapy position in an attempt to reduce the budget.

Tamara Le, who spoke out against the cut Tuesday after the the budget and warrant, has started an online petition urging residents to do the same to avoid making a reduction she said will only hurt NHS' level of education and cost more money in the immediate and long-term.

As of 4 p.m. Thursday, there were 42 signatures on the petition and several comments speaking out against the reduction, which officials said will save $61,000 in the budget and require administrators to contract out OT services.

"As the parent of a child who receives OT services, I know the importance of establishing a rapport between the OT and the child," wrote Jennifer Reid on the petition. "This allows services to be delivered in a more consistent manner that meets the individual needs of the child with a disability. Eliminating the full-time OT at the district could jeopardize the bond she has formed with currently students and negatively impact the services these students receive."

Le contended some of these points Tuesday, calling Johnson a key piece of NHS. These views are also reflected in the wording of the petition itself, which resident Sandy Hoyt said is sponsored by a grassroots group called Parents Advocating for Children, or P.A.C, and is available here.

"THIS ACTION WILL PUT UNDUE BURDEN ON NHS TEACHERS AND PLACE “AT RISK” CHILDREN IN JEOPARDY," reads the petition. "THIS ACTION DOES NOT MOVE NHS FORWARD, MAINTAIN A HIGH LEVEL OF TEACHING STAFF OR FOSTER POSITIVE SPIRIT IN THE SCHOOL[...] North Hampton School is ours. We own it. Is this how we treat our most valued assets?"

The full-time OT position was cut last month after the budget committee requested a compromise with the school district on a bottom line, and the proposed $7.75 million NHS budget reflects that compromise.

School board members have said that cutting Johnson — who has been at the school for 29 years — isn't based upon personal feelings, and they have disagreed with the notion that a contracted OT will cost the district more money.

Changes can still be made to appropriation amounts, the budget and the warrant, both during the Tuesday, Jan. 10, budget public hearing and the annual school meeting before town meeting.

Residents have called for the public's support in helping to bring that change to the OT budget line, including Hoyt who copied Hampton-North Hampton Patch in on a mass e-mail to the community on behalf of Anna Ritchie, a student receiving OT services at NHS.

"This is the 8th year [Johnson] will have worked successfully with Anna towards reaching her potential and assisting in her rehabilitation after the life threatening challenges she has faced over the past two years," wrote Hoyt in the e-mail. "I am sending you this email and asking for your support and signature~on behalf of Anna~ and the other children who will suffer as a result of this position being eliminated."

The budget public hearing begins at 7 p.m. at on Tuesday, Jan. 10. The session won't be held at because that's the location of the daylong presidential primary balloting.