Mayoral Candidates' Position on Edmunds Accessibility

The four major candidates for Mayor in Burlington were asked last night the following question at the Ward 5 NPA meeting...

A surprising two-thirds of Burlington public school buildings are not fully accessible to people with disabilities. Edmunds Middle School is the worst offender. It is, arguably, the most prominent school building in the State of Vermont, sitting, as it does, on Main Street in our largest city. Yet, this public school building and community meeting place is segregated. Students, parents and grandparents, teachers, and community members who use wheelchairs are not welcome. They are, effectively, barred from entering.

In the decades since our federal disability civil rights laws were enacted, we have done almost nothing to remedy this problem here in Burlington. So, my question for each of the candidates...

If elected Mayor, what steps will you take to concretely fix this problem within the next two years?

Listen to their responses at about the 59-minute mark (2/18/2009)... XML or iTunes

UPDATE: Here's the audio clip of just this one question and the candidates' answers.