I copied this thought provoking quote directly from a comment made on Mr. Schwarz' facebook page
Louis Schwarz | Facebook
"My name is Jim Wilson and I live in the Village of Hadley. I worked for 39 years (1970 – 2009) for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). NTID is a federally funded college (Dept of Education) at a private university (RIT). I was a Computer Systems Analyst, and I also was an Adjunct Instructor in Computer Courses to Deaf Students. During my 39 years I (as well as others) were tasked with developing scheduling systems for the 150+ Professional Sign Language Interpreters providing services to 1,300+ students. We tried 4 times and never succeeded. It is NOT an easy task. I feel qualified to talk about this subject. The issues I see posing the LLC are logistics, availability and cost.
Logistics: How many Sign Language Interpreters (SLI) are needed at any given time? When do you know this? What happens if you contract for a SLI and the “student” decides he/she no longer wants to attend? How can you possibly meet the demand when it is a moving target?
Availability: How many qualified SLI are in the local area (30 – 45 minute commute)? As more demand is placed, more SLI will have to come from Orlando, Ocala, Gainesville, and beyond. Now, in addition to the cost of the SLI, you have to include the cost and time for travel. Are there enough SLI to meet the needs at a REASONABLE cost? “Free” SLI typically will only do a one-time events and not an ongoing scheduled “course”.
Cost: The biggest issue is the unknown costs. Since you don’t know how many people will require the service, when they need it, and if they will continue to the end of the “course” you have NO IDEA how much it will cost and how to budget for it. What is done if a scheduled SLI is sick, has a family emergency, etc? Are there substitute SLI available? Who will manage this? That is another cost, management of the needs of handicapped individuals. The LLC is a not-for-profit, self sustaining organization. How do they budget this? Is $1 more per student enough? $2? $3? Who knows? I see this as the biggest reason that LLC closed; the UNKNOWN! If they lost the lawsuit they could have to come up with an unknown amount of money with no source of income.
Do I feel that this could be resolved? YES, but not while the LLC has the Sword of Damocles hanging over them. The plaintiffs need to drop the lawsuit and WORK with the LLC to find solutions that both sides feel would work. The Deaf Community CANNOT expect the LLC to do everything. The Deaf Community MUST do some of the work. Otherwise, EVERYONE loses, except for the lawyers."