NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1975 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 925

HOUSE BILL 409

 

 

AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR THE ORTHOPEDIC HOSPITAL AND REHABILITATION CENTER, INC., AT ASHEVILLE, TO FINANCE THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW REGIONAL SCHOOL FOR HANDICAPPED CHILDREN.

 

Whereas, the Orthopedic Hospital was established in 1938 as a nonprofit organization for the treatment of crippled children; and

Whereas, without proper care and rehabilitation, children suffering from chronic infections, congenital problems and severe accidents are the most heart-breaking members of our society; and

Whereas, fifty to sixty percent of these children are from indigent homes, unable to pay for specialized care; and

Whereas, the school was established in 1940 upon recommendations of practicing orthopedic physicians as a necessary part of the total child development; and

Whereas, the hospital now provides educational facilities for children from a 21‑county regional area; and

Whereas, the regional needs have increased until the daily enrollment has reached 115 handicapped children; and

Whereas, the physical school facilities are totally inadequate for present needs and future development; and

Whereas, numerous independent studies have recommended a new and modern school building without barriers; and

Whereas, the State and Buncombe County are providing teachers, books, and transportation for the students; and

Whereas, the Orthopedic Hospital School has, in the past four years, returned to the public school system a total of 115 children, who would otherwise have been without an education; and

Whereas, the Buncombe County Commissioners made a study of the need for a new school for handicapped children and have determined to allocate two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) for such construction, requesting that the hospital find matching funds; and

Whereas, provisions for the expansion from a capacity of 115 to 165 children will require an additional three hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($325,000); Now, therefore,

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  There is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Human Resources for a grant-in-aid to the Orthopedic Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, Inc., at Asheville, in addition to all other appropriations, the sum of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) for fiscal year 1975-1976 and one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($125,000) for fiscal year 1976-1977 for the construction of a new regional school for handicapped children. These funds shall not become part of the continuing grant-in-aid to the Orthopedic Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, Inc., at Asheville.

Sec. 2.  This act shall become effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 26th day of June, 1975.