There will be no spring prom for Austin Public Schools special needs students this year.

After eight years of arguably one of the most popular events of its kind in the community, it has been deemed “unsustainable” by its current sponsors and a new sponsorship obtained from Arc Mower County.

Bruce Anderson, interim superintendent of Austin Public Schools, said: “The district understands the desire of some parents to have a separate dance for some students.

“We believe the new sponsors can replicate that event for the special needs students,” Anderson said.

The Austin Public Schools’ administration informed the special services department of the decision to cancel the popular event by an e-mail from Danielle Theis, director of special services for the district.

The new event will precede a high school prom-style makeover of Arc Mower County’s “Spring Fling.”

Austin High School special needs students will be invited to attend a “teen dance” at the Mower County Senior Center prior to the start of Arc Mower County consumers’ own prom event in early April.

The AHS special needs students will also have the opportunity to attend the 2009 AHS prom scheduled May 2 at Riverside Arena.

Don Fox, president of the Austin School Board, would only say: “It was not a school board decision. This was an administration decision.”

“We want an event that is sustainable over the years, when the current sponsors may not want or be able to continue their own efforts,” Anderson said. “Arc Mower County agreed to be that sponsor.”

A parent of a special needs student who attended the 2008 prom and who organized it expressed disappointment.

“I am extremely disappointed with the school district’s decision,” said Mary Barinka. “I vehemently disagree with the district’s decision.”

Anderson, who was hired as the interim superintendent after the departure of Candace Raskin, said it has been a goal to “bring people together to find a solution; that is a win-win solution for both sides.”

Despite Barinka’s criticism of the school district’s decision, Anderson said of the parent: “I have high respect for her.”

The special needs students’ proms have been held, during a school day, off school premises and at no cost to the school district.

Last year, the prom was held in Jennings Hall at St. Augustine Catholic Church.

More than 50 community members volunteered to make it a success. Donations came from local businesses.

There were colorful prom dresses, tuxedos, convertibles, a grand march with introductions, music and refreshments.

Seventy-five AHS mainstream students participated either as escorts for the males and females or in other capacities.

Thirty-three special needs students attended.

The district’s special services department teachers and paraprofessionals assisted.

Fox, himself the father of a special needs son, and other school board members attended.

Barinka organized the 2008 event. She and her husband, Tim, have three daughters. Their oldest daughter, Mary Kate, 16, an AHS sophomore, attended the prom.

Mary Barinka attended both meetings AHS administration held to discuss the decision to cancel the special needs students’ prom.

Barinka said her opinion of the event differs from that expressed by school district representatives.

Before Barinka took over organizing the special needs prom, it was a part of the district’s special needs curriculum and organized by Connie Boes, lead instructor before her retirement.

“Last year, I organized an event, which originated as a learning experience, for the special needs students at the high school level,” Barinka said. “It was designed for the students to practice and learn some of the things that are in their Individualized Education Plan Goals such as socialization, life skills and functioning.”

“The purpose of the event was to give the kids a natural environment experience about what it would be like to attend a formal activity. It was designed to help build skills for these kids,” Barinka said. “It wasn’t designed as a segregated event that competed with the AHS mainstream prom.”

To make the special needs students’ prom more realistic, AHS mainstream students participated in the prom event. “They assisted them, they modeled appropriate behaviors, so the special needs students were learning how to act at a social event and what is the appropriate behavior,” Barinka said.

She said having it during a school day allowed special services teachers and paraprofessionals to attend and assist the special needs students. “To make sure their behavior was appropriate, to make sure they interacted with the mainstream students and to facilitate the success of the whole learning experience,” Barinka explained.

A year ago, the school district invited special needs to attend the AHS mainstream prom. While a laudable gesture, Barinka said it’s impossible to successfully meld both groups into a mutually satisfying event.

“Some of the special needs students are very high-need,” Barinka said. “Some are wheelchair-bound, some are tube-fed, some have behavioral issues, social-phobias such as being around new and strange environments and people they don’t know very well.”

Cancellation of the prom is only the latest defeat for special needs families in the Austin school district.

Trips to Confidence Learning Center, Minnesota Twins baseball games and holiday dinner theater events in the Twin Cities have all been canceled.

Anderson said: “Opportunities abound for students with special needs at Austin High School and Ellis Middle School.”

He provided a list of those activities beginning with Adaptive Bowling and ending with the May 2 AHS prom.

Anderson is himself the grandparent of an autistic grandson, and expressed understanding for the parents of special needs students. “I want my own grandson to have the same least-restrictive opportunities, that I know these parents want for their children,” he said.

And Anderson also said both the Arc Mower County event and the AHS prom will provide “meaningful socialization experiences” for the special needs students.

Dawn Helgeson, executive director of Arc Mower County, said she is working with a committee of special needs students’ parents to plan the highly anticipated event.

“We will do whatever we can to make it a special event for the kids,” Helgeson said.